


Rage and Tragedy

by Smalls2233



Series: How We Are Bound [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Canon Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Healing, M/M, Mutual Pining, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Slow Burn, Werewolf Jesse McCree, werewolf Gabriel Reyes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-01-27 07:51:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 91,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12577132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smalls2233/pseuds/Smalls2233
Summary: There’s a lot of things Gabriel Reyes was prepared for to go wrong during the Deadlock bust. Getting shot, stabbed, or killed? All part of the job. Getting bit by a werewolf and its resulting fallout? Never in the plans.





	1. Prologue -- 2077

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates Mondays & Fridays

A bar lies on the outskirts of a large, dark forest. Inside, the liquor is cheap, the lights are dim, and eyes look away when money is passed under the table with tales of monsters slain. There are many bars like it around the world, frequented by men and omnics who fancy themselves as saviors and protectors. They call themselves hunters, saying they protect humanity from the things of nightmares.

They are also frequented by those who simply enjoy listening to and telling tales. Tales of men who turn into wolves, of demons who can seduce a person with a single bite, witches that brew potions and cast spells to mark a man for death. The kinds of tales that sound like fantasy, and frequently are greatly exaggerated.

But those tales, like most folklore, are frequently based on truths. And if a person wants to gather information, they simply have to look for a bar with the symbol of hunters engraved in its signage. Almost indistinguishable from whorls in wood, the symbol reads bright and clear for anyone who knows what to look for.

Within this particular bar, a group of hunters sits, hunched around a too-small table, sipping watered down whiskey. “The One Ravens Follow,” a man, presumably their leader, says slowly as he stares at the amber liquid in his glass. “Kill him first, and the One With The Witch’s Arm will fall.”

“How do you mean?” Asks a second hunter, an omnic. “Witch’s Arm isn't enthralled to Ravens Follow, if anything, killing his changer will enrage him.”

The leader takes a long sip of his whiskey as he considers the words of the omnic. “No, but an angry wolf if a stupid wolf.”

“I’m not the one at risk of getting bitten here, Beck,” the omnic says, drumming their fingers on the table. “We need to strike them down at the same time.”

“Explain their relationship to me again, Oracle,” a woman says to the omnic. A lit cigarette dangles from her mouth.

The omnic, Oracle’s, antenna twitch and they take a moment to respond. “From the information I’ve gathered on my own, and from what the Lone Hunter had given us, the two wolves have been mated for years, decades maybe.”

A large, muscled man snorts, “And Talon’s offerin’ a pretty penny for the bloodsuckers they've got with them.”

“Wolves with bloodsuckers,” the woman shakes her head. “Never heard of that before. Wonder what Talon’s interest is.”

“Don't know, don't care,” the muscled man shrugs and takes a swig from his bottle of beer. “All I know is that the Lone Hunter’s gonna give us a nice reward for the pelts of those wolves, and Talon’s gonna take those two bloodsuckers off our hands. Anyway, Oracle, sorry to interrupt.”

“It’s fine, Larsen,” Oracle says. “From our best guesses, Ravens Follow must have turned Witch’s Arm, though that’s just conjecture.”

“And their relationship?” The woman asks.

“Mated, presumably,” Oracle shrugs. “Look at the history of werewolves, packs don't work with two large alphas like that, and there’s no female wolves to placate them. It’s only logical that they would be mated.”

The woman hums, “Usually packs are a lot more than two wolves and a pair of vamps.”

“It’ll be our lucky day, Vargas,” Beck shrugs. “With the kind of money we’re being offered, I’d take on a pack six times the size of this one.”

The hunters all look up as a chair scrapes next to their table. “Mind if I listen in on this?” A man with long brown hair drawls. “Been mighty curious about those wolves.”

Vargas looks at him with suspicion, “You’re not going to take the bounty from us, are you?”

The man snorts as he takes a sip of his whiskey, “Nah, don't have the need for the money, my partner and I,” he tilts his head towards a heavily scarred man picking at a pile of fries. “We’ve just heard some tales of these wolves, and like seein’ what hunters know of ‘em.”

Oracle nods, “Are you with the association, Mr...?”

“Ain’t much for killing anymore,” the man shakes his head. “And y’all can call me Joel, my partner goes by Ray.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Larsen extends a hand that Joel shakes. “Need us to repeat anything?”

“Naw,” Joel says, waving a hand. “I’m real curious though, what makes you think Ravens Follow turned Witch’s Arm?”

“The size, the dominance Ravens Follow has over Witch’s Arm, and Ravens Follow appears to be older than Witch’s Arm.”

Joel has a slight grin on his face as he shakes his head, “Well, from what I've seen, you've got it backwards. Ravens Follow was bitten by Witch’s Arm.”

“How do you mean?” Vargas narrows her eyes at Joel.

“I’ve been in this area for years,” Joel shrugs and takes a sip of whiskey. “It’s what makes listenin’ to hunters like y'all talk about these wolves so interesting.”

“And you haven't thought to take the wolves down yourself?” Beck asks, his tone is laced with suspicion.

“As I said, I ain't one for violence anymore,” Joel waves Beck off. “And I also ain't foolish enough to take on that pack.”

“It’s just two wolves,” Oracle says.

“And two vamps, very, _very_ powerful vamps,” Joel says, his tone is serious as he sets his drink down. “I don't know about y’all, but I personally like to stay as far away from shit that could glamour my mind as I can.”

“But the bounty from Talon--”

“Is precisely why y’all shouldn't be fucking with those vamps,” Joel cuts off Larsen. “I’m not here to tell you all to not hunt this pack. I get that y’all are probably bein’ offered a ton of money, but maybe you should think about it further.”

“You give every group of hunters this warning, Joel?” Beck asks.

“I’m tired of seeing promising young people throw their lives away,” Joel takes a long, slow sip of his drink. “If you want my advice, keep these wolves to bein’ stories you tell in a bar.”

Vargas’ lip twitches as she considers Joel’s words, “Werewolves and vampires are dangerous beasts, if we don't take them down they’ll just murder humans.”

“Look, pumpkin,” Joel quickly finished the rest of his drink. “I get where you’re comin’ from, but there’s some things people shouldn't get involved with.”

“If I die fighting a werewolf,” Beck says. “Then I’ll do my family proud. I appreciate your warning, Joel, but we will continue.”

“It’s your funeral,” Joel says under his breath before standing up on unsteady legs. “Well, if you manage to survive the vamps, wolves, and their witchy friend, I hope to see y’all here again.”

Joel tips his hat and saunters off to where Ray is waiting by the entrance of the bar. Ray puts a steadying hand on the small of his back and the two men step out into the frosty January air.

“Those idiots are gonna get themselves killed,” Jesse shakes his head and pulls off the long glove he had covering his glowing prosthetic.

“Can't say you didn't warn them,” Gabriel shrugs. He keeps his hand on the Jesse’s back, even if Jesse doesn't truly need the steadying. The drunken, unsteady man had just been another front he put up. It takes an incredible amount of alcohol to get him drunk, and watered down whiskey at a bar won’t cut it. But if it keeps suspicions about him lowered, he’s glad to play it.

“That damn Lone Hunter’s gonna be a real pain in our asses,” Jesse sighs. “Can you believe they thought _you_ bit _me_ though? Some hunters they are.”

“I’m sorry, oh great born wolf,” Gabriel grins. “I’ll be sure to wear a sign that says ‘I was bitten, not Jesse’ when I shift the next time.”

“Appreciate it, sugarcube,” Jesse replies. The two men now are on the outskirts of the forest where sigils line the trees, an archaic system set up by their wandering witch to serve as an early warning systems for humans entering their territory. They have monitoring and warning tech deeper in the woods, but have found over the years that sometimes the arcane is more reliable than science.

They quickly strip free of their clothes, leaving them in a glamoured safe house before shifting. Jesse finishes first, he always does, and stands, hunched over and massive as he waits for Gabriel to finish his shift. Fully shifted, Gabriel is giant and terrifying, a foot taller than Jesse and broader, with silky black and white patched fur.

“It’s strange to think about,” Gabriel, fully shifted, muses as Jesse nuzzles him. “But I can't remember being human.”

“Same,” Jesse chuffs.

Gabriel lets out a howl of laughter, “Idiot,” he cuffs Jesse lightly on the back of his head and Jesse tackles him in retaliation.

The two men scuffle around in the freshly fallen snow for a few minutes, but Gabriel emerges victorious, Jesse’s scruff in his jaw and snow matting his fur.

“I give, I give,” Jesse lets out a whine, causing Gabriel to instantly release him. “But I’m glad, Gabe,” he says softly as he noses at Gabriel’s neck fur, “That it was you I bit.”

Gabriel closes his eyes as he lets Jesse nose at his fur, “I’m glad too, Jesse, even if you were a nightmare of a punk kid.”

“I’m your nightmare now, baby,” Jesse laughs as he thinks back to the early years of him and Gabriel, how he was pulled out of Deadlock, how he changed Gabriel’s life forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy halloween! I'm _super_ excited to start posting this fic! It's been a long time coming -- since late June/early July actually. I've been developing it with [nukawinters](https://twitter.com/nukawinters) who did the incredible inserted art this chapter. Gabe and Jesse are gonna go through a lot of character development through this, and I'm pumped for all of you to see it omg <3  
>  \---  
> Follow me online @smalls2233  
> Follow nuka online @nukawinters


	2. Chapter 1 -- 2055

_If Hell was a place on Earth_ , Gabriel Reyes thought as he stared down the grit coated streets of Route 66 from inside the Panorama Diner, _it would probably be Deadlock Gorge_. He had been out in this godforsaken hellhole for under an hour and he was already ready to go back to Grand Mesa. A recon team had been situated just outside the gorge for around two months, a tiny, discrete Watchpoint made for the sole purpose of busting the Deadlock gang.

“What brings you to Deadlock Gorge?” Gabriel’s waitress, Deborah, her nametag said, asked as she topped up his coffee.

Gabriel briefly considered not responding, but figured that the only way to have the waitress leave him be would to reply. “Heard the coffee was world class,” Gabriel flashed the waitress a charming grin. He was no Jack Morrison, the square-jawed blue eyed all American boy who won the hearts of the media over with a sheepish grin and a salute. But he could be charming when he wanted to.

Deborah giggled, “well now, ain’t that sweet of you, sugar. Our pie’s better than our coffee, though, would you want a slice?”

Gabriel was sure that boiling dirt would result in something that tasted better than the coffee, but refrained from saying it. “I’ll have to turn you down, trying to watch my figure.”

“You _are_ a big fucker, ain’t ya?” Some punk kid, couldn’t have been more than twenty, turned around in his booth and faced Gabriel. “Lemme guess, FBI, CIA?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes and took a long sip of his coffee, trying not to gag. He had worse coffee in the past, probably. “I’m not with anything,” he said finally.

The kid snorted and Gabriel got a glimpse of a tattoo on the side of his neck. “Sure you ain’t,” he went back to digging into a greasy burger. “Lotta strangers ‘round here lately.”

“The Cave of Mysteries drew me in.”

“Whatever you say, stranger,” the kid finished his burger and threw a wad of cash down on the table before leaving the diner.

“I’m sorry about him,” Deborah sighed, filling up Gabriel’s mug of coffee once again -- much to his displeasure. “He’s one of those Deadlock punks.”

Gabriel figured it was a good a time as any to get information, “I’ve heard about them, what’s their deal?”

Deborah eyed Gabriel, “I’d be careful askin’ questions about Deadlock down here.”

Gabriel shrugged, “can you blame a man for being curious?” He flashed another brilliant white smile. If only he was better at the ‘for cameras’ aspect of smiling for the cameras. Reporters just pissed him off, too many questions, too rude of questions, how much they’d twist his words.

“Guess I can’t,” Debora laughed, looking around the diner quickly before leaning in and whispering. “Deadlock’s a right curse ‘round here. They think they own the place, and, being fair, at this point they do. Honest folk like me gotta keep our heads down.” She sighed briefly, “Ain’t much of us left, though. Feels like we’ve been run out.”

Gabriel nodded and softly said, “I’m sure things’ll turn around one day.”

“That’ll be the day,” Deborah stood back quickly. “Now I’m sure you didn’t come here just to hear about my problems and get insulted by those Deadlock punks. Lemme get you a slice of pie, sweetheart, on the house.”

Gabriel tried to refuse the pie and Deborah had none of it, leaving Gabriel with a too large slice of homemade blueberry pie. He didn’t care for sweets, and after the coffee he barely trusted the diner’s food. But it was put in front of him and he knew he couldn’t refuse, it wouldn’t be polite, not with Deborah standing right by his table, waiting for his reaction.

He struggled down a forkful of pie, “it’s great,” he said, trying not to grimace. The pie wasn’t bad, but it was sweet, obnoxiously sweet. He forced himself to keep eating, shoveling down the pie until there were only crumbs left on the plate. If Gabriel Reyes was anything, he was one polite motherfucker. One polite motherfucker who gained an ability to scarf down near any type of food thanks to the SEP. So he suffered through the pie and washed it down with the last of his coffee. He wasn’t sure if that had a good idea or a bad idea. Because at the end, all he was left with was the bitter coffee meshed with the cup of sugar he was sure was in the single slice of pie he had consumed.

“Well now, you sure were hungry. Would you like another slice? I could give you a pie to take home with you.”

Gabriel tried to will his features into a pleasant smile, he wasn’t sure how well it worked. “I’m fine, thank you,” he said. “I’ll just have my check now.”

He was given his check, and a to go box with another slice of pie. This time cherry pie. He paid his bill with cash and left a hefty tip for Deborah. _At least Deadlock Gorge still has some good people in it_ , Gabriel thought to himself. A train thundered along the track above him and he felt eyes trailing him as he walked down the seemingly empty street.

Gabriel knew this game, was deeply familiar with it. So he continued to stroll along slowly, casually. He was at a disadvantage, unfamiliar with the grit lined streets and surely outnumbered.

Subtly, Gabriel clicked on a communicator and muttered softly, “being trailed, eyes open.” He had Blackwatch assets out and about in the gorge. Overwatch agents were safe back at the base, waiting for the strike. Although he wanted to keep as much distance between him and his assets as possible, getting jumped wasn’t exactly in the plans.

Jack Morrison buzzed in on the comm, “how many, Reyes?”

“Glad you’re buzzing in, Jack,” Gabriel replied. “Gonna prevent me from getting jumped while back at base?”

“Gabe,” Jack started and from his tone of voice, Gabriel could already tell there was a vein bulging on Jack’s forehead. “You’re the one who called in first.”

“I called in on the open channel so my assets could be aware of a potential bad situation,” Gabriel shrugged. “If you want to get your hands dirty and actually help out, then be my guest.” Jack had been unwilling to help, at first. Hell, he had been barely willing to lend his own agents to the fledgling Blackwatch to assist with the bust. Jack and Gabriel had been inches away from a fist fight for about two weeks before Jack finally approved the operation to bring Deadlock to its knees.

“Leave the sniping to me, boys,” Ana cut in, Gabriel could _hear_ her eyes roll. “I’ve got eyes on them.”

“How many do you see?” Gabriel asked, slowing down his pace. “I’ve counted four behind me.”

Ana took a moment to respond, “From my position I see those four, and three ahead and to the side of you. Take a left.”

“Ana, there’s nothing to the left.”

“Gabriel, they’re leading you to the right. Try to look casual.”

“Ana, I don’t need lessons on covert ops,” Gabriel said under his breath, knowing the mic would pick it up.

“You’re being herded into a trap, Gabriel.”

“Which is why I have your eyes on me.”

“Commander, do you need our assistance?” McMillan buzzed into the comm.

“Negative, McMillan, keep a low profile,” Gabriel replied.

“Understood, Commander,” McMillan signed off.

“Take a right, Gabriel,” Ana directed.

“Ana, I see three Deadlock tats that direction.”

“Do you trust me or not? I see four more the other direction.”

“Gabriel, get out of there,” Jack ordered.

“I’m sorry, let me fucking fly out of here, Jackie,” Gabriel rolled his eyes. “I’m rolling my eyes here,” he tacked on, realizing that Jack couldn't see his eye roll.

“Sirs…” McMillan cut in.

“Once again, keep the bickering to your personal time,” Ana sighed, tacking on a muttered _idiot boys_ in Arabic. “Heads up, there’s more Deadlocks straight ahead, you’re not gonna be able to dodge them.”

Gabriel swore softly, “How many are there now?”

“More than you can take in a fight, McMillan, prep your team for a strike.”

“Understood, Captain Amari.”

“Hold back, I want to see if I can get out of this without a fight,” Gabriel ordered.

“Gabriel…” Ana started.

“Ana, trust me,” Gabriel said. “We have one shot at this Deadlock bust, let me handle this. I was given Blackwatch for a reason, so let me do my job.”

“Commander Reyes, what do you want us to do?” McMillan asked.

“Hold back,” Gabriel said. “Ana will keep a watch on this, if it escalates to a fight, step in.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Reyes signing off,” Gabriel said, clicking off his comm and watching past the Deadlock punks. “Afternoon, gentlemen,” he nodded.

A burly man who looked to be more hair than face rolled a cigarette between his teeth, “Stranger,” he nodded. “Heard you were askin’ questions.”

“Had to know how the Panorama Diner makes such good pie,” Gabriel shrugged, motioning to the box in his hand.

The burly man barked out a laugh, “Brother, you and I both know that their pie is too damn sweet.”

“What can I say, I really love sugar.”

“So, lemme rephrase this,” he said after a long drag of his cigarette. “The fuck organization you with? Feds?”

“You could search me,” Gabriel shrugged. “I can promise you that I’m not with the Feds or anything. Used to be in the military, killin’ was too much, now I'm hopping town to town, checking out the diners. Do some tech consulting on the side to keep the cash flowing.”

“I can believe the ex-military part of that,” the burly man laughed. “Boys, search him,” he motioned with a sharp jerk of his chin.

Two of the Deadlock goons manhandled Gabriel and it took all of his willpower not to shake them off. They dug through his pockets, finding a half-smoked carton of cigarettes, a wallet, his phone, and a business card holder for his fake tech consulting company. Hell, Gabriel was half sure that they were _smelling_ him, their nostrils flared as they inhaled deeply around his neck and he clenched his jaw.

Goon One tossed the wallet to the burly man and Goon Two pocketed the cigarettes. The burly man spat out his cigarette as he pawed through Gabriel’s wallet, there were some old receipts, a single losing lottery ticket, a few membership cards to long-closed stores, a fake ID from California for a man named Ray Diaz, and a hundred bucks worth of cash.

Gabriel Reyes was nothing if not thorough about the lies he crafted when he went undercover. He hadn't known that any Deadlock punk would go through his wallet, but to whole-ass an undercover identity, every small detail counts.

The burly man grunted, took the cash, and tossed the wallet back to Gabriel, “Consider that you payin’ your rent so you can stay in Deadlock Gorge, Ray,” he said. “You best not linger for too long.”

“Was planning on leaving in just over a week, got loads of diner food to try,” Gabriel lied. In reality, he was planning on pulling the strike the next day, hopefully to be out that evening.

“You’d best prepare an extra two weeks than,” the burly one snorted. “Ain't gonna get nothin’ but sick if you’re survivin’ off of food from the Panorama.”

“I’ve had worse,” Gabriel shrugged. “MREs and shit back in the day.”

“You say that till you’ve had their popcorn shrimp.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Gabriel said nodding his head as he made to walk off. He prayed that the goons wouldn't stop him that time. He didn’t want to fuck up the one shot that he had in the Deadlock bust because some goons were suspicious of him.

Gabriel breathed a small sigh of relief as the Deadlocks seemed to ease off of him, but he knew better than to let his guard down. They weren't herding him any longer, but he knew that they were watching him, waiting for him to slip up.

He didn’t like the scrutiny he was being put under by Deadlock. Blackwatch was still relatively new and this was its first big bust. The first time he could prove to the UN that _he_ should have been the right choice for the Strike Commander position, not Morrison.

Gabriel shook his head to try and clear his mind of that line of thinking. Getting angry with Jack for taking the job only he had been offered was a dangerous train of thought. There were plenty of other reasons he had to be furious with Jack, but the Strike Commander position shouldn’t have been one of them. Anyway, he needed to focus on the larger issue, Deadlock.

Deadlock was painfully well established in the Southwest. They started with trafficking drugs from cartels in Mexico before deciding that they wanted to carve out their own niche in the world. So they started with weapons, going from illegal automatic firearms to bigger things like WMDs. They were like kudzu, no matter how many times they were clipped, they kept coming back.

Gabriel wanted to change that. In attacking the gang in their home turf, he figured that he could claw out their roots and stop them from reforming. But being in the gorge, he was less confident. They had choked out most of the other life in the area, and from what he saw, most people under thirty were in the gang.

Gabriel checked into the dingy motel room he had rented and let out a sigh as he plopped down onto the questionably clean bed and pulled out his tablet. He ran a quick scan for bugs in the area while he set up a secure network.

The scan came clean and Gabriel immediately pulled out his communicator and opened up the plans for the bust on his tablet. Drumming his fingers on the mattress, he waited for HQ to respond to his call in.

“Commander Reyes,” a woman — Kimura, an Overwatch agent — answered the communicator. “Do you need me to patch you through to the Strike Commander?”

Gabriel frowned, “Yeah, send me through to him.”

“Understood,” Kimura said and the line went silent for a moment before Jack answered the comm.

“What’s up, Gabriel?” Jack asked and Gabriel tried to cool the flicker of annoyance in his gut.

“I wanted to go over the plans for tomorrow’s bust again,” Gabriel said, schooling his voice into a neutral tone. “I want to make adjustments to it after checking out the gorge.”

“Gabriel, the plan as is is solid,” Jack said.

Gabriel bit back a sigh of frustration, “Jack, if you want me heading Blackwatch to work, you need to trust my judgement.”

“I trust your judgement,” Jack said. “But I also know that you tend to overthink problems. The original plan is solid, Gabe.”

Gabriel ran a frustrated hand through his beard, “You need to at least listen to me, Jack. Taking down Deadlock isn’t gonna be like protecting some politician or stopping a riot. One wrong move and we’re dead.” He waited for Jack to protest, but blessedly Jack stayed quiet. “I want us to get moving with this op faster. Same start time, but people will need to do their jobs fast before Deadlock has a time to organize.”

“They’re already going to be having to do their jobs fast, Gabe.”

“Well, they’re going to have to do them faster. Because in the time between me sitting in that diner eating a terrible slice of pie and me leaving, they were organized enough to herd me into a trap. I don’t want to give them the time to do that while we’re running this bust.”

There was dead air for several seconds before Jack finally responded with, “Fine.”

“And I want to reorganize agent positions. I think I noticed a potential escape route that I want covered.”

“Assets are already stretched thin, Gabe.”

Gabriel bit back a response of _and whose fault is that?_ Instead, in as pleasant a voice as he could manage he said, “Move Holt’s group from their current position to the area I marked on the map.”

“Those are Overwatch agents, not Blackwatch assets, Gabriel,” Jack said in a warning tone.

“And this is a Blackwatch op, Jack,” Gabriel said dryly. “So currently, they’re my assets.”

“Gabriel,” Gabriel could _hear_ the scowl in Jack’s voice, and felt a lecture incoming.

“Jack, am I or am I not the man whose decisions got us through the crisis?” Gabriel asked. “And right now, I don’t care if you’re Overwatch’s Strike Commander. This is my op, you just need to do what I tell you to.”

Gabriel hated the way that every time Jack and he talked, it devolved into an argument. It wasn’t that he was bitter over Jack taking the Strike Commander position, but the way that it _changed_ their relationship. Throughout the SEP and strike team days, he and Jack had been thicker than thieves. Jack had the stress of being the face of Overwatch piled onto him, and Gabriel was weighed down by what he had to do in his job as Blackwatch’s commander.

Gabriel had never wanted to torture people of assassinate them. But with Blackwatch, that’s what he was forced to do. He did all the dirty work and got no credit. So he had closed himself off from his friends and turned snappish and short with them. Especially Jack.

Those first few weeks, Jack would burst into Gabriel’s quarters like he had always done with a six pack of beer and complain about the bullshit he had gone though. With the press twisting his or Ana’s words, countries that were loathe to allow Overwatch to operate, and the struggles of trying to get humans to work with omnics.

All in all, Jack’s complaints had been valid. But when Jack was complaining about the press circuit while Gabriel had just been forced to flay open a man’s arm until he had given Gabriel every last drop of information he had about a drug cartel coming from the American South, Gabriel had very little patience for Jack’s complaints.

So slowly, Jack stopped coming to Gabriel’s quarters, stopped reaching out, and Gabriel isolated himself more. He internalized the pain and devoted himself to the job. Eventually, a rift grew between him and Jack that neither of them seemed to care enough to try and mend.

“Gabriel,” Jack sounded exhausted and older than his years, like he was in his mid fifties, not mid thirties. “I’m not trying to run your op, and I trust you, but you’re overthinking things.”

“Just pass the information I’ve sent you on to those who need it,” Gabriel scowled. “Good night, Jack,” he clicked his comm off before Jack had the chance to respond. He needed a strong drink, but settled for black coffee instead. It was going to be a long night of preparation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As with the prologue, the inserted image is by [nukawinters](http://twitter.com/nukawinters)  
> \---  
> follow me online @smalls2233


	3. Chapter 2 -- 2055

Come morning, Gabriel had run through every potential loose end he could think of. As much as he hated to admit it, Jack was right about him overthinking things. He always had, back in the Crisis it had taken Ana or Jack to pull him out of his head. But with Blackwatch, he only had himself to depend on.

Gabriel ran a hand through his beard as he stood up. He had managed to get about an hour of sleep, thankfully more than enough thanks to the good ol’ SEP. There were about two hours until the sun would rise over the horizon, and one hour before the bust was scheduled to begin.

 Gabriel wasn’t nervous about the bust, he knew it would go well. He had every aspect of it planned out, he trusted everybody on his team. Even if Jack was being a pompous pain in the ass, Gabriel knew he could trust him on the field. It was just the fact that it was Gabriel’s first shot to prove himself as Blackwatch’s commander. Prove that he was the best for the job, that he would have been the best for the Strike Commander job.

On the nightstand, his communicator buzzed. It was the alarm he had set finally going off. He walked over to it and shut it off. He had a couple of notifications on it, one of them was from Ana with a simple _Call me, right now, Gabriel._ Gabriel rolled his eyes as he walked to the bathroom, comm in hand, he was already dialing Ana’s number.

“Gabriel,” Ana picked up on the first ring.

“Why did you need me to call?” Gabriel asked. He had the sink on and his toothbrush was out. Ana would just have to deal with his multitasking.

“What did you do to make Jack fume?” Ana asked.

Gabriel took a moment to respond as he brushed his teeth. He thought over potential responses, but decided the truth was the best. “I made him remember that I’m the one in charge of this mission, and so he has to listen to me.”

He heard Ana sigh loudly, “Have you ever heard of tact, Gabriel?” She asked after a moment.

“Ana, I’m not here for a lecture,” Gabriel warned.

“I’m not here to lecture you,” Ana replied, another sigh left her lips. “But fighting with Jack solves nothing.”

Gabriel’s lips were tight as he reached for his shaving cream and razor. “Ana, this is my mission, and Jack needs to not fight me on my decisions. All I did was remind him of that, how he reacts is his fault.”

“ _Gabriel_.”

“Ana.”

Ana muttered something in Arabic under her breath before saying, “Jack’s a hard headed idiot sometimes, Gabriel--”

“You’re preaching to the choir, Ana.”

“ _But_ ,” Ana continued. “So are you. The two of you need to work together, Gabriel, I’ve already discussed this with Jack.”

“Could we save this for after the op, Ana?” Gabriel asked. The comm was on speaker as he spread shaving cream on his face to take care of his five o’clock shadow.

“And then what excuse will you have to avoid this conversation? Jack had said the same thing to me, Gabriel. The two of you need to act like the adults you are.”

“Ana, don’t talk to me like I’m Fareeha.”

“I’m not talking to you like you’re Fareeha! I’m sorry I don’t treat you like you’re God’s gift to the Earth, but the little sniping you and Jack have been doing with each other? It’s unprofessional, Gabriel, and it needs to end. You two don’t have to be friends again, but I’m telling you the same thing that I told Jack -- get over yourself.”

Gabriel scowled, “I’ll see you in forty five minutes, Ana,” and he clicked off his comm.

He didn’t have time for Ana’s lectures. They came from a place of caring, and he knew she was being truthful when she said she had given Jack the same talk. But he was furious that she thought the hour before the op was the appropriate time to tell Gabriel to get over himself.

Gabriel washed his face clean of the remnants of the shaving cream, splashed on some aftershave, and left the bathroom. There wasn’t long until he had to be out the door, so he unwrapped a few protein bars and scarfed them down as he got dressed. He wasn’t in full tac gear yet, that was packed up in a duffle to be put on when he was in the van to meet up with his strike team. But he was dressed in enough to feel confident.

To Gabriel, putting on his tac gear, his combat uniform, was like putting on a costume when he was back in university, preparing for a play. When he was nineteen, twenty, he was preparing to be Othello or Hamlet. But at thirty-six, Gabriel was preparing to be the bloodthirsty commander that Blackwatch required him to be.

As he slipped on the dark hoodie, it was almost easy to pretend that’s what he was.

\---

“Commander Reyes,” Kumar snapped to attention as Gabriel slipped into back of the van.

“At ease, Asset Kumar,” Gabriel waved Kumar down as he set his duffle onto a table in the van and began taking out his tac gear to strap on. “Has there been any movement from Deadlock?”

“None yet, sir. At least, nothing out of the usual,” Kumar said. They ran a hand through their hair and pulled out a holopad. “There’s been some runners out, but it’s smaller weapons.”

“What classifies as smaller with Deadlock, Kumar?” Gabriel asked. He inspected the holopad as he slipped his chestplate on.

“Smaller bombs, automatic guns, no nukes or anything.”

“Thank the lord for small miracles,” Gabriel said under his breath as he flicked through the screen tracking the movements of the gang. “They suspecting anything? I had a run in with some of the goons last night, but I think we’re in the clear from that.”

“If they’re suspecting anything, they’re damn -- sorry, darn -- good at hiding it.”

Gabriel cracked a grin, “Kumar, how old are you?”

“Twenty-five, sir,” Kumar responded.

“Then you’re fucking old enough to swear in front of me,” Gabriel patted Kumar on their back as he handed them back the datapad. “I’m your commander, yes, but you need to feel comfortable with me if you’re gonna be on my strike team, kid.”

“Of course, sir,” Kumar said after a moment.

“Where’s Blaise and Dupont, by the way?” Gabriel asked. “I want to make sure they’re on the same page as me. This is their first time on the field in this type of situation.”

“Right here sir,” Blaise waved with two fingers while Dupont held back a few feet. “What do you need to run over?”

Blaise and Dupont had both been in the army, recommended to Gabriel directly by their former commander. Gabriel had seen their skills first hand, Blaise with weapons, Dupont with tech, but, “This is the first time you two are doing a stealth mission like this, correct?”

Blaise nodded, “Yes sir, but we’ve run the simulations a hundred times.”

“Be prepared for things to go wrong, Blaise,” Gabriel stared her down and stroked his goatee. The problem he had with Blaise was she was too cocky, to ready to throw herself into danger for the team. “You need to stick with Dupont, make sure he gets the info he needs. As soon as there’s danger, get out of there, both of you. I need us to find out who Deadlock’s trafficking what to, but the safety of the team is more important.”

“Don’t worry, Commander,” Dupont said, his voice soft but firm, determined. Gabriel liked Dupont, he was quiet and respectful, but with a dry sense of humor right up Gabriel’s alley.  “Blaise has my back and I’ve got hers.”

“Don’t worry, boss,” Blaise echoed Dupont and flexed her prosthetic arm, a marvel of modern technology that could crush steel and send electricity coursing through it. Blackwatch was working to figure out if they could replicate Vishkar’s hard light technology, and Blaise had volunteered to be the test subject for that, so she had rudimentary versions of that within the arm, but to be used as a last resort. “Dupont and I are golden, we’ve been through some pretty sticky situations before.”

“I worry about you guys, because it’s my job,” Gabriel shrugged. “This op isn’t gonna be easy, but I trust everybody to do a good job.”

“Sir,” the three assets saluted at the same time before Gabriel waved them off with a laugh. He had hand picked the entire Blackwatch team as it stood at that moment. There were fifteen members, but they all were the best of the best. Former agents of the world’s best security agencies, top soldiers, and he trusted them with his life.

“I really don’t appreciate you hanging up on me, Gabriel,” Ana walked into the van, face unimpressed.

Gabriel bit back a nasty retort, “Good morning to you too, Ana.”

“Right now is business,” Ana said after a moment. “But Gabriel, as _soon_ as this Deadlock mess is cleaned up, you’re getting the talking to of your life. You and Jack both.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Gabriel waved Ana off. “Is the Overwatch side of things set up?” He asked, pulling out his holopad.

Ana nodded, “They’re all in position, comms are gonna run through Jack’s team.”

“Perfect,” Gabriel nodded. “Here’s your gear for this, the Overwatch blue is a bit too obvious for stealth,” he grinned and held a duffle bag out for her.

“It’s pretty awful, isn’t it?” Ana laughed and pulled the tac gear out of the duffle. “There a reason for the mask?”

“If anything goes wrong, I don’t want your face, the face of Overwatch’s Captain Amari, associated with this black ops shit,” Gabriel shrugged.

“Ever the thinker, Gabriel,” Ana began stripping out of her casual clothes then and there. All her shame had been washed away in the crisis, and Gabriel knew she didn’t think twice about being half naked in front of the Blackwatch team. Hell, Gabriel was the same way, if he needed to strip, he’d strip. Wasn’t anything sexual, just necessity.

Ana slipped on the discrete, dark outfit. She wasn’t in need of much armor, Gabriel was planning on Ana staying further back from the action to provide additional support, so her tac gear was mostly swaths of dark cloth.

“This looks good, Gabriel, you design it?”

“Yeah,” Gabriel shrugged. “Did the clothes, had the scientists outfit it with the same armor they set up for Blackwatch. They custom made the mask, too.”

“How’s it work?” Ana slid the mask on and red lights lit up on the face plate of it.

“You’ll be getting bio info of all of us thanks to these,” Gabriel pushed up the sleeve of his hoodie and tapped at a metal plate on his forearm. “It’ll help you keep track of all of us too, so you’ll be the eyes on us. The mask should hook up with your scope and assist your sniping. Not that you need the assistance.”

“Interesting,” Ana hummed.

Gabriel opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the buzzing of his comm. “Commander Reyes,” he answered.

“All teams on my end are ready to go, Gabriel,” Jack said.

“Perfect, begin the raid in ten. Make sure to follow the plan to a T,” Gabriel nodded, immediately turning to business mode. “This should go smoothly, but be prepared for a worst case. Deadlock has a ton of weapons stockpiled, and they might be dumb enough to use them.”

“It’ll be fine,” Jack said. “We beat a bunch of killer robots, Overwatch and Blackwatch can take down some punks with guns.”

“That’s the plan,” Gabriel shrugged. “Let me know if anything goes wrong on your end.”

“Understood, I’m signing out,” Jack clicked off and Gabriel stood up straighter. “Team, you ready to head out? I want us guns blazing in ten.”

“I’m always ready, sir,” Blaise grinned.

“Perfect, we’ll show these Deadlock punks that they ain’t invincible,” Gabriel flicked his hood up over his beanie and grabbed his shotguns.

\---

The Deadlock bust was going smooth. So much smoother than Gabriel had expected on it going. Room by room, they cleared out silently and efficiently. It was like Deadlock was unprepared for somebody to burst into their home turf.

A shocking realization dawned upon Gabriel as he realized, all of the previous attempts to destroy Deadlock were _never_ at the heart of the gang. It was always on the outskirts, the side bases. Deadlock had Deadlock Gorge so locked down that the security on their home base was lax.

“Blaise, Dupont, server room should be two doors down. Get the info,” Gabriel snapped the neck of a Deadlock goon in one quick motion. He set the body down next to another and searched their pockets to see if they had anything useful. “Be careful, something’s fishy here.”

“Understood,” Blaise and Dupont saluted and bolted off.

Gabriel, finished with escorting the two of them, began walking to meet up with the rest of his team. He had their locations pulled up on an eyepiece and headed in their direction.

“You know, Ray,” a man said behind Gabriel. “Think you might be a bit far away from the diner and we ain’t go no use for your tech consultin’ here.” Gabriel turned around and leveled a shotgun at the bearded man from the day previous. Muscles twitched until the man’s skin in an unnatural way, almost like something was trying to crawl out of it.

“My bad,” Gabriel fired off his shotgun and fired off a shot.

The bearded man dodged, inhumanly fast, and charged Gabriel. Gabriel responded by whacking the man on his head with a heavy shotgun. It had little effect beyond enraging the man and causing him to bleed from a cut on his face.

Gabriel was charged again, and this time the man got him to the ground. Gabriel’s head hit the stone floor with a crack and Gabriel gasped in pain. The man was on his chest, sharp nails digging into Gabriel’s neck. Blood dripped from the man’s forehead and landed on Gabriel’s chin, neck, and chest.

“You really shoulda stayed outta Deadlock Gorge, _Ray_ ,” he growled. His eyes were chips of ice as he stared Gabriel down. “Because all you’re gonna get outta this is a shitty last meal and a shallow desert grave.”

“Nah,” Gabriel said dryly and brought a dagger up and into the man’s throat. Immediately, the man rolled off of Gabriel and he was able to stand up and watch as the man ripped the dagger from his throat. Gabriel clicked his tongue and shook his head, “ _Oh_ , I wouldn’t have done that, bud.”

Blood poured from the man’s throat and he gasped for air. His massive chest was heaving and his limbs were convulsing in an odd manner. Gabriel assumed it was the throes of death as he levelled his shotgun at the man’s head and pulled the trigger, giving him a mercifully shorter death than it would have been.

Gore splattered on Gabriel’s face, across the shallow wounds on his neck. But he forced himself to ignore it as he knelt down next to the cooling, stiffening body. There was something up with that man, he was too strong.

“I think Deadlock has some knockoff of the SEP juice,” he commed in to Jack.

“What do you mean?” Jack replied immediately, the sound of gunfire loud.

“Just got attacked by a man who was stronger than he had any right to be. Keep an eye out and make sure your team stays out of hand to hand. Engage at a distance.”

Jack took a moment to respond, the only way Gabriel knew he was still on the comm was Jack’s heavy breathing and loud shots being fired. “Understood.”

“Reyes out.”

There was a flashdrive in the man’s back pocket that Gabriel pocketed, but nothing else. Gabriel’s lips were thin in frustration, but he bolted off, more determined than ever to get back to the team.

As Gabriel ran, he commed into Blaise, “Keep your eyes peeled, there’s some Deadlock goons who seem to have something like SEP going through them.”

“Are you okay, sir?” Blaise replied.

“Covered in blood, but very little of it is my own. Probably got a concussion, but it could be much worse. Stick with Dupont and engage from a distance. They know we’re here now, so don’t worry about stealth. And see if you can find anything about this shit in their servers, this has the potential to be really bad if they’re trafficking this to rogue governments and anti-omnic groups.”

“Roger, Commander. Is that all?”

“That’s all.”

“Signing off then,” the comm clicked silent and Gabriel ran through possibilities in his mind. The soldier enhancement project still wasn’t known to most. But Deadlock was well established, there was a strong potential that they had somebody on the inside. He prayed that Dupont could find info on whatever they had.

“Gabriel, Jack just buzzed me, what’s happening?” Ana clicked on in his ear.

“Give me a few ticks, I’m running to your position right now. They have some type of bootleg SEP juice I think. Got attacked by someone who shouldn’t have been as strong as he was.”

“Was? Is he dead.”

“Unless he can recover from having his brains splattered on the floor and on me, yeah he’s dead.”

“Are you okay, Gabriel?” Ana asked, concern laced her voice.

“Just a few scratches and a nasty bump on the back of my head, but I had worse in the crisis,” Gabriel replied. “Gonna have a hell of a time explaining to the dry cleaner what happened to my outfit, though. Pretty sure there’s some brains on it.”

“Lovely,” Ana said dryly. “See Angela when you’re back on base, though. I know you’re enhanced, but bumps on the head can be dangerous.”

“Dr. Do Good would force me to check in with her anyway,” Gabriel chuckled.

“Gabriel, hold on, something’s not right here.”

“Ana?”

Six gunshots rang out, strangely doubled over both the comms and from what Gabriel heard in the distance.

“Ana, tell me that’s us who just shot,” Gabriel picked up the pace as he watched six of the lights go dim. “Ana, are you there?”

“Gabriel, hurry up,” Ana’s tone was urgent.

“How many assailants are there?” Gabriel asked, any traces of joking gone from his voice.

“Not sure, I’m searching for them,” Ana replied.

“I’m almost there, I’m gonna sign off and tell Morrison, see if we can get medical in here,” Gabriel hung up on Ana and rang Jack up.

“Gabe, what’s up?” Jack asked, confusion evident in his voice.

“Get medical into the warehouse asap, lights went down on six Blackwatch members at once, don’t know how many gunmen are but they’re bleeding out.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, Jack,” Gabriel ground out. “I’m running to the scene right now, Ana’s there.”

“Is Ana okay?”

“She’s fine, I’m signing off, get medical here now.”

Gabriel burst into the large, open area that the shots had rang out in. He scanned the room quickly, trying to see if he could find the assailants. He ignored the broken forms of Blackwatch assets on the floor. Medical was going to be no use. There were neat little holes between each of their eyes.

“ _Gabriel_ ,” Ana screamed, and it was all the warning Gabriel got before he was tackled.

Gabriel turned around in the grip of whoever tackled him and got whipped across the face with their gun for his effort. Blood ran from his forehead into his eyes as something sharp at the butt of their gun cut across his brow.

Gabriel howled in pain and threw his assailant off of him. He wiped the blood, his own mixed with the drying blood of the bearded man, out of his eyes to get a better view of his attacker.

It was a kid.

A kid, no more than eighteen or nineteen, stared at him, teeth bared in a feral snarl. In one hand was a six shooter the length of his thigh.

Realization dawned on Gabriel, six shots had rang out. The kid had an empty six shooter. There weren’t multiple assailants, there was just the one. One probably enhanced by whatever bootleg SEP shit Deadlock had going on.

Gabriel watched as the kid bit a chunk out of his own arm, confused. His confusion proved to be distracting enough for the kid to manage to bolt at Gabriel and rip out a portion of the flesh on the side of Gabriel’s neck with a strong bite.

Gabriel howled in pain as he swung around and elbowed the kid in the stomach. He felt blood soaking the fabric of his undershirt and hoodie and knew he was in danger of bleeding out. But he needed to take care of the problem of the drugged up kid first.

“Fuck you,” the boy growled, clutching his stomach as Gabriel bore down upon him. He wanted to take this kid alive, have somebody to question about whatever bootleg SEP juice Deadlock was using. Figure out how the kid was able to shoot so accurately with a damn six shooter.

“Take a nap, kid,” Gabriel said flatly as he slammed the boy’s head on the rock wall. Instantly, the kid crumpled to the ground.

“Ana, I need your healing shit right now,” Gabriel yelled.

“You’re out of my line of sight, can you move?” Ana yelled back.

“I’d rather not, I’m bleeding out. The fucking kid bit a chunk out of my neck.”

Gabriel heard Ana swear as she ran out of position towards him. He pressed a hand to the side of his neck to try and quell the bleeding, but his gloves quickly became saturated with the warm liquid.

“Medical’s on their way,” Ana said when she got next to Gabriel. “Right now all I’m gonna be able to do is stick you with a bio dart, knock you out, and pray it’s good enough.”

“You can’t knock me out, Ana, I need to finish this mission.”

“Gabriel, you’ve done your job and more. Deadlock’s mostly cleared out and you’ve captured one of their members for interrogation. The mission was a success.”

“Ana,” Gabriel protested.

“Trust me, Gabriel.”

Gabriel hissed out a breath, his head was going foggy from blood loss anyway. “Fine, but make sure I’m up and ready to interrogate the brat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the update day from tuesdays to saturdays since I'm using saturdays as my writing day lol  
> As always, the inserted image is by the ultimate enabler, [nukawinters](http://twitter.com/nukawinters)  
> \---  
> Follow me online @smalls2233


	4. Chapter 3 -- 2055

Gabriel’s neck burned when he awoke. He ran a hand along it, just to find thick bandages wrapped around his neck.

“Commander Reyes, please don’t mess with the bandages, your injury is bad,” Angela Ziegler said as she grabbed Gabriel’s wrist and pulled his hand away from his neck.

“How long have I been out?” Gabriel asked, thin lipped.

“Around two hours, enough time for Overwatch to storm the warehouse, thanks to your work, apprehend the rest of the Deadlock members there, and start the weapons retrieval process,” Angela said. She checked Gabriel’s vitals and hummed. “I’m grabbing your chin, don’t freak out.”

“Why would I--” Gabriel got cut off as Angela grabbed his chin as promised and shined a small flashlight into his eyes.

“You have a concussion,” Angela released Gabriel’s chin and wrote something down on a holopad. “What happened there, Gabriel?”

“Tussled with Deadlock meathea-- Where’s the kid I apprehended?”

“Being interrogated by the Strike Commander currently,” Angela ran a few fingers lightly across the back of Gabriel’s head, causing Gabriel to flinch. “Tenderness on the back of his head,” Angela murmured to herself as she continued to write things down on her holopad.

“I want to go interrogate the kid,” Gabriel said.

“You’re in zero condition for that, Gabriel,” Angela frowned.

“Listen, Doc, I got injured worse in the Crisis and still managed to get up and do my job. Currently, my job is cleaning up these Deadlock loose ends.”

“Gabri—“

“Angela,” Gabriel interrupted. “Just let me do my job.”

“So you stop me from doing my job,” Angela muttered under her breath. “I want to keep you under observation, Gabriel, the wound is weird.”

“What do you mean by weird?” Gabriel frowned. Angela calling a wound weird wasn’t good.

Angela ran a hand through her her hair, “I mean that it’s not healing. Thanks to the SEP, it should be mostly healed up by now and…”

“And what?” Gabriel couldn’t help but bring a hand to the bandage.

“First off, stop touching that Gabriel,” Gabriel immediately brought his hand away from his neck. “So this is gonna sound crazy, and I doubt we can trust what the Deadlock kid’s saying but,” she took a deep breath. “He’s saying he’s a werewolf.”

Gabriel just blinked at Angela for a few seconds before he began howling in laughter. “A werewolf? Holy fuck,” he wiped a tear from his eye. “What else is he saying, Deadlock _wasn’t_ trafficking weapons? His other motorcycle is a unicorn? A werewolf! Fuck, Doc, and you’re keeping me under observation for that?”

“Gab—“

“The kid probably just hasn’t brushed his teeth in his entire life. Just give me some antibiotics and we’ll be good,” he couldn’t help as another burst of laughter overtook him. “A fucking werewolf!”

“Gabriel, nobody _believes_ him, but the wound is weird.”

Gabriel sat up and swung his legs off the bed, “Look, Angie, I’m gonna go do my job and interrogate the kid. I’ll be back when I’m done.”

Angela pinched the bridge of her nose, “I want you to come back _immediately_ , Gabriel, when you’re done with this.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Gabriel waved her off as he stood up. “Where’s my shirt?”

“You mean the one I tossed because it was soaked in blood?”

“Bummer, the blood could have intimidated the kid.”

“There’s fresh clothes over there, Gabriel,” Angela rolled her eyes and pointed with her clipboard to a small chair.

“You’re the best, Doc,” Gabriel patted her shoulder as he walked past her.

“You sure change moods quickly, Gabriel,” Angela raised her eyebrows.

“Any man would be put in a good mood if he got what he wanted,” Gabriel shrugged as he slipped on his shirt. “Plus, the kid thinking he’s a werewolf is a good enough joke for me. Does he think we’re idiots?”

“I think he’s beyond drugged up is the problem,” Angela said. “I haven’t had a chance to examine him, but if he gave you a run for your money and he’s skinnier than a twig, I wouldn’t doubt he’s strung up on ten kinds of drugs.”

“Bootleg SEP gone wrong, probably,” Gabriel scratched at his shaved head. “God knows that the non-bootleg shit was bad enough. I ever tell you about the day I thought I was gonna die? Jack’s lucky he came in when the juice was more stabilized.”

“You can tell me about it when you’re back in the infirmary,” Angela said. “Gives you a reason to come back at least.”

“Of course, Doc,” Gabriel threw on his beanie. “I’ll be back.”

“You better, Gabriel.”

“When have I ever ignored coming to the infirmary, Angela?”

“Do you want me to list off the times this month, or in general?”

Gabriel chuckled, “I’ll be back when I’m done with this, I’ll pinky promise if it makes you feel better.”

“It’s not about making me feel better, it’s making sure you don’t kill yourself,” Angela said. “You went through the SEP, but that doesn’t make you invincible.”

“Thank you for the reminder, Doc,” Gabriel squeezes past Angela to get to the door. “Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got a drugged up teenager to interrogate.”

\---

As Gabriel walked into the viewing room of the interrogation cell, he heard the Deadlock brat practically spit at Jack, “Fuck off you blonde bitch, I ain’t got nothin’ to say to you.”

“He’s a pleasure,” Gabriel said dryly as he shut the door. “How long’s this been going on for?”

“Commander!” Blaise whipped her head around and quickly hid her phone.

“About an hour now,” Dupont said. “All that’s happened so far is the strike commander’s been trying to get the kid to crack and the kid’s been spouting off nonsense about being a werewolf.”

Gabriel snorted, “Angela told me about it. Kid’s closer to Hannibal Lecter than a werewolf.”

“Are you alright, Commander? When Dupont and I arrived, there was a ton of blood.”

“I’m mostly fine,” Gabriel brought his hand up to rub at the bandage, but Angela’s voice in his head had him stop halfway there. “You get anything useful from their servers?”

“Yeah, we’ve got shipment information for the past ten years and some big name buyers. Nothing on whatever bootleg SEP they were using, though,” Dupont said. “I’ll have the info transferred to you, sir.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Gabriel rummaged around his pants pockets. After a moment he wrapped his fingers around the flash drive, “I got this from the pockets of the big fucker who attacked me first. See if you can find anything useful on it, Dupont.”

“Yes sir,” Dupont nodded. Gabriel tossed the drive to him and Dupont snatched it from the air. “You want me to run through it now?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that big guy was SEP enhanced, so maybe this has info on it, so I wanna this analyzed asap.”

Dupont opened his mouth to reply, but shut up as soon as they heard Jack ground out, “I’ll let you stew on this, kid,” and stormed out of the interrogation room.

“I’ll go see if I can find anything on this,” Dupont said slowly after a second.

“I’ll join him,” Blaise tacked on.

“I’ll pretend to believe that you’re going to help him, and not just trying to avoid the inevitable war zone this room is about to become,” Gabriel said dryly.

“Avoid? I’d never avoid anything,” Blaise shot finger guns off at Gabriel. “I’m making a strategic retreat.”

“Get your mission report on my desk tomorrow bright and early, Blaise,” Gabriel responded. “And a coffee to help me forget that you’re leaving me alone here.”

“You got it, boss,” Blaise winked. “You’ll get the most expensive coffee I can find in this hellhole of a desert.”

“I’m regretting this already,” Gabriel said, but Blaise and Dupont were already out the door. Gabriel knew he had about five seconds to mentally prepare himself for the tension and awkwardness that would ensue when Jack entered the room.

“Agents Blaise and Dupont I need you to—“

“They’re working on something for me, Jack,” Gabriel said flatly as Jack walked into the room.

The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife as Jack slowly said, “You should be resting, Gabriel.”

Gabriel bit back an annoyed hiss, “I’m going to interrogate the kid. Do we have any info on him?”

“Just an age and a n— What do you mean interrogate, Gabriel? You need to be in the medbay.”

“The doc gave me the all clear, I’m fine,” Gabriel waved off Jack. “What’s the kid’s name and age, Jack?”

Gabriel watched as Jack’s jaw worked, he was obviously trying to decide whether it was worth it or not to fight Gabriel on this. “The kid’s name is McCree, Jesse McCree, he’s eighteen,” Jack said after a moment.

“Old enough to be thrown in max sec for this shit, you tell him that already?”

“Obviously,” Jack rolled his eyes and Gabriel noticed Jack’s split lip and bruised nose. “The dumbass headbutted me after I told him.”

“What’s this about him claiming to be a werewolf?” Gabriel asked.

“After he headbutted me, he started rambling on about how he should bite me, make a new pack or something. The kid’s probably strung out on twenty types of drugs,” Jack shrugged. “I’ve been at it for an hour and a half and all that’s happened is the brat’s just gotten mouthier and mouthier.”

“So then he’s gonna see what happens if he’s mouthy to me.”

“You need to go back to the medbay, Gabriel,” Jack said firmly.

“Hey Jack? Do me a favor and step back on this, interrogation is what I was trained to do for my job, or have you forgotten?”

“Do you really want to get into this right now, Gabriel?” Jack’s lips were tight. “Because all I’m doing is looking out for your health.”

“I don’t want to get into it, Jack, but if you’re gonna stop me from doing my job, I will gladly get into it.”

“Unbelievable, Gabriel,” Jack hissed and threw his hands up in the air. “Fine, go fucking interrogate the kid, good luck getting any info out of him, because either he knows nothing, or he’s just not gonna talk.”

“He’s gonna talk,” Gabriel said flatly. “I’m seeing to it personally,” he shoved his way past Jack in the door. “Probably should turn off the cameras for this.”

Gabriel raked his nails against his palms and tried to quell his anger with Jack. He needed to focus, not get caught up in another pissing contest with Jack.

He inhaled deeply, and exhaled slowly before opening the door to the interrogation room. He had a job to do.

“You back for round two, blondie? Uncuff me and see how well you do against me,” Jesse spat as soon as Gabriel opened the door.

“You colorblind, kid?” Gabriel asked dryly as he leaned on the doorway. “Because I don’t know about you, but I can pretty easily see that I’m not blonde.”

“Oh, it’s you,” Jesse scowled. “The fuck you want? Another chunk of your neck bitten out?”

Gabriel narrowed his eyes, “You don’t know when to give up, do you?”

Jesse’s scowl deepened, “I ain’t got shit to tell you that you’re gonna believe. Lemme guess, you’re gonna try and play good cop to blondie’s bad cop, try and get more info outta me?”

Gabriel couldn’t hold back his laugh, “You think the boy scout’s the bad cop?” He sat down in the chair opposite Jesse and leaned forward, “Kid you’re in for a surprise.”

“Like you were surprised when I attacked you?” Jesse sneered. “Or you were when you saw your pack killed by a single kid with a gun?”

“Let’s try, I’ll start breaking your fingers until you start talking?” Gabriel replied.

“I’ve already talked, asshole. I’m a werewolf, I’ve been in Deadlock since I was twelve, I don’t know a fuckin’ thing about the weapons traffickin’ since I’ve been locked in that damn cave since I was twelve and they didn’t trust me to do nothin’ more than shoot at people.”

“If you’re a werewolf, then why aren’t I, you know, a big wolf?” Gabriel asked, eyes narrowed and fingers steepled. “Because I’ve got the mark to prove that you bit me.”

“Does it look like the full moon out?” Jesse scowled. “I should bite blondie, he’d make a mighty good wolf. Big and strong. Don’t think I’d even need to bloody up my teeth with him like I did with you.”

Gabriel stared, unblinking, at Jesse’s dark eyes for several long seconds, saying nothing. Jesse looked away first, and Gabriel bit back a grin. “What do you think you’d get from biting the Strike Commander?”

“I don’t gotta answer jack shit comin’ from you,” Jesse scowled.

“Do you now?”

“Fuck off and just let me go.”

“Let you go?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. He was getting a feel for the kid, and he had a feeling that what would get Jesse to crack would be out-alphaing him. “Kid, you were part of Deadlock, you put bullets between the eyes of six of my men. The only place you’re going from here is straight to jail unless you tell me everything you know.”

“Straight to jail?” Jesse barked out a harsh laugh and bared his teeth to Gabriel. “I’d like to see a jail keep me. I’d escape within a day.”

“So then why haven’t you escaped from here yet?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

“Take these cuffs offa me and see how long you can keep me.”

“Let’s go back to the main point, what drugs did they put you on, how many people are on them?”

“I ain’t on no drugs,” Jesse scowled. “They didn’t even let me touch their weed, let alone anythin’ harder than that.”

“Then what’s making you so strong? And don’t say werewolf, McCree.”

“If you don’t want the truth then I don’t know what to tell you,” Jesse leaned back in his chair as far he could.

“Okay, then, McCree, so then why don’t we put what you’re saying to the test,” Gabriel leaned forward on the table until his chin rested on his steepled fingers. “You say you’re a werewolf? That you could get out of jail?”

“That’s the truth, sweetheart.”

“So then I’ll leave you shackled, tied up, no give, strong as steel, cuffs that even I couldn’t break out of. See what happens on the full moon. Bet it’d be interesting for science.”

Fear in the kid’s eyes. Bingo.

“You wouldn’t,” the bravado was gone from Jesse’s voice.

Gabriel didn’t even attempt to hide his smirk. “Wonder what it would feel like, having to change into a wolf while you’re in chains meant for a human.” He pursed his lips and stared Jesse straight in the eyes, “You turn into a big dog or something two legged and massive? For your sake I hope it’s the first one, because imagine those bones snapping as you shift.”

Gabriel didn’t like the way he saw fear boiling in Jesse’s eyes. The way his hands shook. But he had a job to do, and if scaring the hell out of some delusional kid was the way to get the job done, then that’s what he had to do.

“That’d be illegal,” Jesse said after a moment, he hid his shaking hands under the table.

“Pretty sure human and ominc laws only apply to humans and omincs,” Gabriel said. “Wonder how long it’d take before you were screaming, begging in pain as you tried to hold off the shift?” He blinked slowly at Jesse, appraising his reaction. “So you gonna come clean about the truth, or you gonna keep bullshitting about being a werewolf?”

“Get these shackles off of me,” Jesse’s voice was barely a whisper, his eyes were wide in panic as he looked at Gabriel.

Gabriel looked at Jesse like he was crazy, “I’m not about to unshackle you, kid.”

There was real panic and fear in Jesse’s eyes as he looked at Gabriel, “Please,” a sobbing whisper, “I don’t wanna break my wrists.”

Gabriel watched as Jesse raised his wrists above the table. “ _What the fuck_?” He whispered as he saw Jesse’s skin writhing, how thick, dark claws were sprouting from his fingertips. “Jack, get the shackles off of the kid.”

“Reyes, what’s going on?”

“Jack, get the fucking shackles off of this kid, _now_ ,” Gabriel nearly screamed. With a click, the cuffs popped off of Jesse, and Jesse fell to the ground.

Immediately, some hellish transformation began to overtake Jesse and Gabriel could only watch in fear. Jesse kicked off his boots, his hands already too far gone in their shifting to finagle them off. His muscles were writhing in the same way the bearded man’s had as he was dying.

Jesse was shifting.

Bones snapped and twisted Jesse’s form changed, Gabriel wanted to vomit. Jesse was screaming in pain as the shift overtook him, as the shape of his face grotesquely shifted, his mouth elongated, his nose, still human in shape, hung somewhere between his eyes while the bones rearranged themselves.

“Gabriel, what the fuck am I seeing?” Jack buzzed in, panic colored his voice.

“I don’t know, Jack,” Gabriel said dumbly, walking backwards, as far from the shifting Jesse as he could.

“Get out of there, Gabe,” Jack’s voice quivered.

Thin patches of fur sprouted from Jesse’s skin, around his shirt that ripped and tore around his massive, growing form. His human ears had switched to something canine, his lips turned thin and black.

“What the fuck?” Gabriel whispered again, his back was pressed against the mirrored window of the interrogation cell.

Fully shifted, Jesse snapped his head at Gabriel and barred his teeth in a snarl. His posture was something not quite human, not quite canine. He was hunched over, held up on two massive arms corded in thick muscle. Patchy, mangy fur covered his body.

Strangely enough, for Gabriel, pity began to well in his chest along with the panic and fear. He didn’t know where the feeling came from, but Jesse was a terrified, cornered animal. Strongly muscled arms and legs contrasted with his thin torso, the way his skin was tight around visible ribs.

He was just a kid.

“McCree, calm down,” Gabriel said slowly to Jesse, holding out a hand.

Jesse snarled in response, baring his massive, sharp teeth even more.

“We’re not gonna lock you up like that, you just gotta calm down,” Gabriel said. A loud growl reverberated in Jesse’s chest and Gabriel bit back a swear. There was no way he was going to be able to fight back a--

Jesse bit him.

Reality came crashing down on Gabriel all at once. With bloodied teeth, Jesse had bitten him. That terrified, snarling beast in front of him was going to be Gabriel.

“Jack, get Angela,” Gabriel’s voice was nearly a sob. “Get Ana, get somebody.”

“Gabriel, what’s wrong?”

“He bit me, Jack,” Gabriel’s chest heaved as he tried to fight back the panic. “Jack, Jack what the fuck is going to happen to me?” Gabriel was happy Dupont and Blaise were out of the area, weren’t seeing him having a fucking panic attack.

“Gabe, calm down and get out of there.”

Gabriel dug his nails so hard into his palm that he felt blood welling, he needed to calm down, but panic still bubbled in his chest at the sight of the shifted Jesse. He had survived the crisis, went through the fucking Soldier Enhancement Program, but the sight of a single teenaged brat shifting into something he thought he was a fantasy not even five minutes previously in front of him? Knowing that the kid had bit him?

It was enough to send any man into a panic.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Jesse said, his voice an unnatural half growl. “Get out of here.”

Gabriel tried to move, but his legs were locked up. His entire body was betraying him in his panic.

Jesse was obviously fighting something within him, his body was as tight as a bowstring. Gabriel was on the verge of a breakdown as he continued to stare at Jesse.

“ _Go_ ,” Jesse’s voice was a growling scream and it was enough to send Gabriel, on shaky legs, to the door. He raised his shaking palm to the palm censor and swore as it kept rejecting his print.

Eventually, the door opened on override from Jack and Gabriel slid out of it before the door even fully opened.

When freed from the room, Gabriel collapsed to his knees and broke into an embarrassing, choking sob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter... you get to see Jesse's pov for the first time :3c  
> \---  
> Follow me @smalls2233


	5. Chapter 4 -- 2055

Jesse blacked out as he shifted. It was an act he hadn’t done in years, not since Pa had… since Deadlock took him in. The fear scent that wafted off of the asshole he bit, Gabe or whatever the fuck Blondie called him, played up in tandem with his own panic over being forced to shift had made him unstable.

It was all Jesse could do to warn the guy to get the fuck out of the room they were locked in before his fear made things even worse. Before Jesse tore through him as if he were nothing.

He didn’t know how long he blacked out for, just that when he came to, he was alone in the interrogation room. Probably being watched by whatever the fuck scientists the assholes brought in to rationalize him turning into a giant wolf.

Not like they believed him about being a werewolf. He would have taken smug satisfaction in knowing he proved his point if his entire body didn’t feel like it’d been hit by a truck. Forced shifts destroyed him, made him miserable for days. Ones where he blacked out were even worse.

“You’re awake,” a voice buzzed in through the intercoms. It was Blondie.

“The fuck you want? Gonna run out cryin’ like your boyfriend?” Jesse sneered at the one way mirror, doing the only thing he knew how to do when faced with a bad situation; puff up and act big.

“Commander Reyes has decided to offer you a position within Blackwatch,” Blondie said, his voice was tense and unhappy, like he didn’t want to give the offer. Not like Jesse wanted to take it.

Jesse’s sneer only grew, “You think I’d join you? I’m done with this pack shit.” A lie, he desperately wanted one now that he was freed from Deadlock. But not whatever pack he was being offered and Blondie didn’t have to know about his instinctive need for a pack, didn’t have to know any more of his weaknesses to use against him.

“You were the one talking about biting me, McCree, forming your own pack,” Blondie said dryly and Jesse’s jaw clenched.

“Here’s a better offer; you let me go and you won’t see hide nor hair of me again,” Jesse ground out, sneer replaced by a deep scowl.

“Kid, you bit the second worst person you could have if you just wanted to run away,” Blondie laughed. It was a brittle, nasty sound. “You have about two options as I see it right now. Either you’re gonna join Blackwatch under Commander Reyes, an offer proposed by him for reasons unknown to me, or you’re gonna live out the rest of your life in a cage, being researched by our top scientists and doctors.”

“Option three, I run away as soon as you relax your grip on me.” He just wanted to get out. Hole up somewhere and pray that Deadlock was really gone. Start his own pack or _something_. Just get away from the humans and the asshole he bit.

“You have two options, McCree. I don’t care either way which you pick, but it’s option one or option two.”

Jesse scowled and flexed his hand, trying to shift his nails into claws, but the forced shift had drained him. “Just let me go.”

“You’ve lost that option when you bit Commander Reyes and killed six of his assets,” Blondie’s voice was dark. “Tell me what you were thinking when you bit him, McCree. Because obviously you planned it out enough to bite your own arm first in order to, I’m just speculating here, make sure the change took or something.”

“I don’t gotta answer to you,” Jesse scowled.

“Yeah, you do. You know why?”

“You got an ego problem to make up for your tiny dick?”

Jesse could _hear_ the way Blondie’s fist clenched, the way his jaw was tight, “It’s because I’m the man in charge of your fate right now, kid.”

“Right, tiny dick, that’s why you’re actin’ like this. Just let me go, Blondie,” Jesse flexed his fingers again. Finally, he was able to form his claws.

“Do you want to live the rest of your life in a cage?” Blondie snapped. “Because you’re one more inappropriate quip away from me handing you to our genetics department to investigate what exactly let’s you turn into a wolf.”

“If you cage me up,” Jesse said, his voice was a low, dark growl. “Y’all will see a reckonin’ like no other. It’ll rain blood.” He wasn’t going to be caged again.

“Well then, McCree,” Blondie sounded like barely contained fury and Jesse bared his teeth at the one way mirror. He was terrified but he wasn’t going to let Blondie see. “Sounds like you have one option.”

“No cages, no beatin’s, and no restrainin’ me on the full moon,” Jesse ground out.

It wasn’t said over the intercom, but with his sensitive hearing Jesse heard Blondie say, “No beatings? Does he think we’re monsters? Christ, what happened to this kid?” And Jesse went stiff, he didn’t want anybody’s pity. Especially not Blondie’s.

“You’ll wear a muzz—“

“Don’t you _dare_ fucking muzzle me. I ain’t no dog,” Jesse snapped. “I have control over myself, I know when and when not to bite people.”

“So then explain to me why you were threatening to bite me, actually bit Commander Reyes?”

Jesse raked his claws down his hand, dug their sharp tips into the meat of his palm, “Did I bite you, Blondie?”

“That’s Strike Commander Morrison to you, McCree.”

Like that meant anything to him. “Fuck if I care what the hell type of pup title they gave you,” Jesse sneered, he just wanted to get out.

“It means I’m your,” Morrison paused for a moment in thought. “I’m your new alpha, and Commander Reyes is gonna be another alpha.”

Oh fuck, fuck, _fuck_ , “Fuck off.” Panic flared in Jesse’s chest again, he wasn’t about to be locked in another bad situation, not again. “Don’t you _dare_ fuckin’ claim you’re my alpha. You ain’t my alpha and don’t even think about callin’ yourself that again.”

“Christ,” Jesse heard Morrison say through the wall. “The hell happened to this kid?” The intercom buzzed on again, “Okay then, McCree, then I’m the big boss. Everything comes back to me, Commander Reyes is _your_ boss.”

“You’re not gonna be testing shit on me.”

“You’ll be monitored and examined during full moons, because I’m assuming those make you shift. You’ll also have your blood drawn and examined.”

“I ain’t gonna be shifting for your amusement,” Jesse growled softly.

“You’re not going to,” He could _hear_ the way Morrison’s eyes rolled. “We’re not your enemies, McCree.”

“You’ve locked me up.”

“You killed six of our men and bit Commander Reyes.”

 _Should’ve just killed Reyes then_ , Jesse thought darkly. At least then he probably could have escaped, instead of being locked into whatever the fuck Morrison wanted out of him, still being some damn test subject for whatever the fuck ancient scientists he was no doubt gonna be shoved to.

“Whatever,” Jesse spat. “Just don’t muzzle or cage me.”

“We’re not going to do that, McCree,” Morrison said, his voice dryer than the damn desert. At least he wasn’t showing his pity when actually talking to Jesse. “If you betray this trust and bite somebody, nothing’s going to save you.”

“I’m not gonna bite anybody,” Jesse scowled. The only reason he had bit Reyes was to be a big fuck you to Deadlock. It wasn’t like he was some uncontrollable beast. He was a goddamn sentient person. “Not like I’d wanna be stuck with any of you assholes in a pack,” a lie, Morrison would make a great wolf. His teeth itched to bite him, but Jesse had forced himself to refrain. Thank god he did, because he hadn’t realized just how important Morrison was. Fuck, he hadn’t even thought that Reyes was important.

“You’re gonna be stuck with us assholes, McCree, because congrats kid. You’re a Blackwatch asset now,” Morrison said.

Jesse barked out a sharp reply, but there was no response. Morrison had left the viewing room, Jesse figured going off of the heavy footsteps he heard in the hallway. He dug his claws deeper into his palm, willing himself to stay calm.

He wasn’t going to get hurt. He just had to stay calm and he could run as soon as they let their guard down.

They wouldn’t be able to catch him, they were in the desert. He and Pa had survived there for twelve years. He could do it again.

Overwatch wasn’t going to keep him, he wasn’t going to be a prisoner. Jesse McCree was no one’s trophy, no one’s prisoner. Not anymore.

“Put these clothes on,” Morrison opened the door slightly and threw a bundle of clothes into the interrogation room. Jesse scowled as he stared at the standard issue fatigues in front of him, but he had no other option than to slide the clothes on. His old clothes laid in tatters on the floor, destroyed by his shift.

At least his boots remained intact. He slid those on last and waited for Morrison to open the door again, arms tightly crossed and scowl plastered on his face.

“Let’s get you to the infirmary, McCree,” Morrison said when he opened the door again. “Hands begins your back.”

“You’re not seriously about to cuff me again?” Jesse eyed the handcuffs Morrison was carrying warily.

“Put your hands behind your back, McCree. Until we can trust you, you’re not walking around without a guard or several, and you’re going to be cuffed.”

“I said no muzzles or cages.”

“Didn’t specify cuffs,” Morrison said. Jesse wanted to punch his stupid perfect face. Fucking stupid goddamn blue eyed all American boy. At least Jesse had split his lip earl— it was already fucking healed. All traces of bruising and his split lip were already gone.

Stupid fucking Overwatch. God damn it all.

Jesse’s scowl deepened as he slid his hands behind his back and let Jack cuff him. It wasn’t fair. He wasn’t going to hurt anybody, it would have been a goddamn death wish if he even tried.

“Follow me,” Morrison said. His voice was flat, obviously as unhappy about the situation as Jesse was. At least that was something they had in common.

Jesse unhappily trailed behind Morrison as they walked through the halls. He let his feet drag, hoping at least the scuff marks from his boots would inconvenience somebody.

Morrison stopped in front of a room that reeked of disinfectant. Jesse wrinkled his nose unhappily, but walked through the open door.

“We have security cameras and bots around this area, if you try anything you’re taking another nap, McCree,” Morrison said flatly before the door slid shut. Jesse swore unhappily and kicked at the wall.

Jesse didn’t know how long he waited for. The walls of the small infirmary he was locked in had no clocks, no windows for him to get a glance at the sky. He felt claustrophobic and itchy. He said no cages and the infirmary he was locked in was beginning to feel a hell of a lot like a cage.

“I’m not a veterinarian, Jack,” he heard an accented female voice protest. “I don’t know the first thing about this!”

“Yeah, well, you’re the only thing we’ve got, Doctor Ziegler.”

“Jack, I don’t know what you want me to do. We’ve got limited supplies, I have zero idea of what to expect from this, and he already bit Gabriel.”

“Doctor, just do this. I have Agent Blaise running to get mange shampoo because I’m pretty sure he looked like he has mange.”

“Mange Jack I—“ she cut herself off with a loud sigh. “I’ll do it Jack, but I’m not happy about this situation.”

“That makes two of us.”

The door opened and Jesse felt like his scowl was a permanent fixture on his face. Walking in the room was a girl about his age wearing a lab coat. Behind her was Morrison with his arms crossed.

“This is Doctor Ziegler, she’s going to process you,” the door slammed shut before Jesse could grind out a nasty reply.

“I’m not an animal,” Jesse turned his bad attitude her way. “So don’t worry about not being a veterinarian,” he tried a bad approximation of her accent.

At least the girl had the decency to look ashamed, “I’m sorry, Jesse. I’ve never seen a… a werewolf before.”

“Never seen them let a damn kid be a doctor either,” Jesse sneered.

The girl’s jaw was set tight, “I’m eighteen, same as you, Jesse. I’m going to treat you just like any other patient, same amount of respect as them. So I’d appreciate it if you set your attitude aside for an hour and make this easier on the both of us.”

“Whatever,” Jesse rolled his eyes. “I just wanna get this over with.”

“I’m going to uncut you. The Strike Commander wants me leaving the cuffs on but they can’t be comfortable,” the girl said, walking around Jesse. “You promise not to try anything?”

“I’m not a moron,” Jesse grumbled.

“No, you’re just prickly as a cactus,” she said, unlocking the cuffs. “What happened to your hands?” She asked, grabbing at one of Jesse’s hands and he held back a flinch.

“Nothing.”

“Jesse don’t lie to me,” she said. “What happened.”

“I dug my claws into my palm, girlie,” he snapped.

“First, my name’s Angela, not girlie. Second, why lie? Just tell me the truth about injuries so we can both get this over with,” there was no pity in Angela’s voice. Jesse found that he appreciated it.

“Whatever, Angie.”

“It’s Angela not— whatever,” Angela said. “Angie’s better than girlie. Now hold your arm out so I can draw blood for some tests.”

Jesse frowned but held his arm out. “Have you had your blood drawn before, Jesse?”

“Don’t think I’ve ever been to the doctor’s before, maybe when my pa was—“ Jesse clamped his jaws shut. He didn’t want them knowing about Pa. Didn’t want them knowing more about his past than they had to. “I’ve never been.”

Angela’s eyes narrowed slightly but she said nothing, “So no shots or anything?”

“I’m not a dog to get vaccinated,” Jesse snapped.

“People get vaccinated too!” Angela snapped back. “Christ, I know you’re not a dog, Jesse. I get shots yearly.”

Jesse grumbled out a response and Angela continued. “You’ll get started on vaccinations when we’re in Zurich—“

“I’m not goin’ to Switzerland.”

Angela stared at him, “You have no choice in the matter, Jesse. You’re going where Commander Reyes goes. Plus, that’s where all my stuff is at so I can finish examining you.”

Jesse frowned deeply but said nothing and Angela swabbed at his skin, cleaning it, before she pierced the thin skin of his elbow with a needle. Jesse howled in pain and jerked his arm back.

“Hold still, Jesse,” Angela wrapped her gloved fingers around his wrist and tried to pull it down. Not like it was any use, even as malnourished as Deadlock kept him, he was still stronger than most humans. But he let her bring his arm down again. And he only flinched slightly when she pulled the needle out and pierced his skin with it for a second time, sticking the vein.

Jesse tried to hide his interest in how his blood flowed out of his body into the rapidly filling vials. It wasn’t something he had seen before and he was almost transfixed.

The vials topped up quickly, and Angela gently pulled the needle free from his vein. She wrapped a bandage around it, “You’ll notice bruising and tenderness around that spot.”

“My entire body already hurts it’s not like it’ll make that big a difference.”

“You what?” Angela’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean? Jesse you need to let me know about things like this.”

“It’s normal, why would I mention it to you?”

Angela’s lips were tight, “Please think about how I thought werewolves were fictional until about three hours ago.”

“Three hours?” Jesse was shocked, he hadn’t thought he had blacked out for that long.

“Yes, Jesse,” Angela said slowly. “So I want you to let me know of any pains, anything that might be normal to you, a werewolf, but to me, a human, is abnormal.”

“I don’t know what is or isn’t normal to a human,” Jesse grumbled quietly.

“Did you get bit young or something?”

“I didn’t get bit period,” Jesse snapped, she hit a sore spot. “I was born a werewolf. I don’t know the first thing about bein’ human.”

“How was I supposed to know that?” Angela snapped back at him. “Jesse, you know what your records said? Your name and your age. I know jack shit about your medical history or your werewolf history. So either you’re going to cooperate with me or I’m just going to knock you out while I finish these examinations.”

“There’s things I’m not comfortable talkin’ about,” Jesse said quietly, backing down.

“Then we won’t talk about them, but I need to know things, Jesse. I need to know what medical care you’ve gotten in the past, I need to know what you know about werewolf health. Like is chocolate poisonous to you? Do you rabid at the moon? I don’t know these things and I need to since I want to help you, Jesse.”

“The things that are poisonous to a human are poisonous to a werewolf, nothin’ more,” Jesse said slowly. “I won’t go rabid at the moon but fresh wolves do. I ain’t never been to a doctor before and I was always told to just lick my wounds in Deadlock.”

Angela said nothing, there was no pity on her face, she just worked at typing things down. “Do you have any allergies?”

“Not that I know of,” Jesse shook his head.

“Any old injuries?”

“Nothin’ serious.”

“Jesse.”

“Look, my broken bones and cuts healed, I’m fine.”

“Which bones?”

“Couple ribs, left arm, some fingers and toes, my nose,” Jesse said slowly.

Angela’s lips were tight, “When we’re in Zurich you’re getting an x-ray.”

“I’m fine,” Jesse snapped. “The bones healed, I don’t need no x-rays.”

“You’re getting an x-ray, Jesse. As your doctor I’m telling you this.”

Jesse clamped his jaw shut and Angela lifted his left arm and ran her fingers along it. Her eyes widened as she passed over his tattoo, “Jesse, did they tattoo over a brand?”

Jesse pulled his arm back, “I don’t wanna talk about it.” He saw pity flash in Angela’s eyes for the first time and he snapped, “Don’t you dare give me your pity. I don’t want that from nobody.”

Angela opened her mouth to reply, but quickly shut it. Instead, she unwrapped the bandage that had managed to somehow stay around his arm, right above his tattoo, to inspect the wound. It had already begun to heal, the edges of the wound were already granulating and the flesh scabbing over. It was still deep, though, Jesse had ripped out a massive chunk.

“I’m going to suture this shut, have you had local anesthetic before?” She ran a finger along the inflamed flesh next to it. “And you’ll be started up on antibiotics when we’re back in Zurich, the wound looks like it has the beginnings of an infection, it’s so hot.”

“It’s not that,” Jesse said slowly, loathe to tell her more about the biology of werewolves. “Werewolves have higher temperatures than humans, and we have stronger immune systems.”

“I’m still gonna give you stitches, Jesse.”

Jesse said nothing as Angela walked away to get the stuff for stitches in the small infirmary. He felt antsy as he waited, he didn’t hate her as much as he hated everybody else he had met so far, but he just wanted to leave. To be free.

Angela rolled a tray over and had a syringe in a hand, “I’m going to inject you with the anesthetic, stitch up your arm, and then wrap it in a bandage again.”

“It can heal without these.”

“It will heal faster with them, now hold out your arm. This might sting, but your arm will go numb afterwards so I can stitch you up without pain.”

Jesse was skeptical, but held his arm out anyway. As Angela had said, there was an intial sting, but his arm quickly grew numb. He watched in mild horror as she washed the wound out and began freshening the edges with a scalpel. He felt nothing, like it was somebody else’s arm he was watching. It grew even more surreal as she began stitching the edges together, as his flesh was pierced and tugged, yet he felt none of it.

“You should get feeling back in thirty minutes or so,” Angela said as she finished up suturing the wound closed. “It’ll be pins and needles for around fifteen minutes and then you’ll have full feeling back.”

Jesse tried to clench his hand, but the muscles refused to obey. It was bizarre.

“Now I want to weigh and measure you before I have you shift and do a skin scrape.”

“Skin scrape?” Jesse asked confused. “Woah, woah, hold on now, I ain’t shiftin’ for you.”

Angela stared at him with a cool gaze, “Jesse, I need to see if you have mange, and if you do, whether it’s sarcoptic or demodectic.”

“You’re sayin’ words like I know what they mean.”

“If humans can get it or if humans can’t. I also need to cut your hair.”

“You’re not cuttin’ my hair,” Jesse scowled. His hair wasn’t great, he roughly cut it himself whenever it got past his shoulders, but he saw no need to cut it any shorter.

“You’re in a military organization now, Jesse. You need a regulation cut.”

“Like Blondie’s was regulation?”

“The Strike Commander is a special case.”

“I ain’t cuttin’ my hair.”

“I don’t want to deal with cutting your hair. But we both have to do things we dont’ want to do.”

Jesse scowled and tried to cross his arms against his chest, only to remember that his left forearm was completely numb and flopped uselessly against his torso. Because of course it did, not like the universe could have tossed him a bone for once in his goddamned life.

Jesse watched with narrowed, displeased eyes as Angela pulled out a pair of clippers and plugged them in. “I’m not a hairdresser so this won’t be perfect.”

“Oh boy,” Jesse scowled. “Even more of a reason to be pissed about this.”

Angela scowled back at him, “Wanna get over this attitude, Jesse? I’m sorry that you’ve just been given an opportunity to turn your life around. I know that that must just be the worst offer ever.”

“Turn my life around?” Jesse snapped. “I’m just another fuckin’ prisoner for another goddamned pack. I ain’t been given any opportunities in my god damned life.”

“Prisoner? What?” Angela looked at him. “Jesse, you’re not a prisoner.”

“Oh I’m sorry, I guess free men get guards watching them over everywhere they go, are forced to be cuffed when walkin’ down the halls. Deadlock must have--”

“Deadlock must have what?”

“I’m done talkin’,” Jesse said flatly. “Just cut my fucking hair and finish the rest of this shit up so I can go.”

Angela said nothing, just fixed him an unreadable look before she turned the clippers on and began buzzing off his long, greasy hair. He felt naked without it, as each strand of hair was clipped away, he felt more and more of his defenses he built up chip away.

So he patched it up the only way he knew how to, with more bad attitude, scowls, and pain.

Halfway through getting his hair buzzed down to maybe a half inch of hair, feeling began to return to Jesse’s arm. His fingers twitched slightly, and he forced himself to form claws once more. He dug his claws deep into his palms, letting the pain ground him.

He was going to get out of Overwatch and all of the people who thought they could help him, who just wanted to use them. Angela said she was trying to help him, but Jesse knew that nobody ever looked out for others. People would always look out for their own self interests, and he didn’t want to be caught up in the self interests of multiple parties in Overwatch.

“I’ve left you some longer hair on the to--” Angela cut herself off as she saw the blood welling on Jesse’s palms. “Jesse, what did you do?”

Jesse said nothing, just glared at her.

“Christ almighty, just give me your hands,” she pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers.

“No,” Jesse dug his claws deeper into his palms.

Angela inhaled deeply, and exhaled sharply. “Jesse, I’m going to get a fresh pair of gloves, and then I want to see your palms. I’m sorry for prying, I just want to do my job.”

Jesse scowled, but he relaxed his hands until his claws pulled free of his flesh. They were soaked in blood, and his palms were red with it. “I don’t want help,” he said quietly.

“Nobody wants help, Jesse, but I’m here to provide it,” Angela said.

She returned with some antiseptic and gauze. She quickly swabbed down his wounds and cleaned his palms of blood before bandaging his hands up. “Now go strip and stand on that scale,” she motioned with the remainders of the roll of gauze.

Jesse stood up, unhappy but that was nothing new, and began to strip from the fatigues Morrison had forced on him. He considered leaving them in a messy pile, but knew he was going to be the one who had to deal with that later on, so he folded them neatly.

He left his briefs on, there was no way he was removing those until Angela forced him to shift.

“Are you done?” Angela risked a peek over her shoulder. Jesse nodded slowly and walked to the scale, he let his feet drag on the floor again, but he had nothing to make scuff marks with.

Angela hurried over beside him and keyed in something on the machine he was standing on. “Don’t move,” she ordered and Jesse wanted to move just to piss her off. But he refrained, and within a minute the machine beeped and Angela said, “Okay, you can get off now.”

He stepped off of it and scratched at his freshly buzzed head. It felt unnatural and he hated it, not having anything to wrap his fingers in.

“Shift while I look over these results,” Angela said, face buried in her holopad. “I won’t look or anything.”

Jesse nearly cried in relief, he didn’t want more people witnessing his shift. It was something that most werewolves only let the ones closest to them see, the process was so unnatural, so grotesque that he didn’t want anybody seeing him.

He stripped free of his briefs and got down on the floor to begin the shift. Since he wasn’t being forced into a shift through instincts, he was better able to control the pain that came with his entire body contorting and shifting shapes.

His shifted from still wasn’t fully mature yet, he still had some small problems with balance, his limbs were still slightly warped in his adolescent form. He wouldn’t have his fully mature form for another year, when he was nineteen. But he wasn’t going to tell anybody about that, he didn’t want them learning more about werewolves than they had to.

He didn’t trust humans, he didn’t trust omnics, he barely even trusted other werewolves. But humans were the worst, selfish and cruel. He didn’t want them gaining any new knowledge about werewolves that they could use against them.

“Is silver poisonous to you?” Angela asked while Jesse was still in the middle of his shift. “Or is that just a myth?”

“It’s not poisonous but it burns our skin when we touch it,” Jesse said, minutes later, when he had finished the shift. He tried standing at his full height, but his balance was still wonky and he nearly toppled over.

Angela looked over at him and barely contained her flinch, Jesse could smell her slight fear in the air. He held his years back and fought to contain his snarl. He could control himself, he wasn’t a mindless beast.

“Hold still so I can scrape your skin,” Angela said after she collected herself. “This shouldn’t hurt, I’m just going to drop some oil on your skin and scrape a few times to see if I can get any mange mites.”

Jesse said nothing, and Angela did exactly what she said she would do. It was mostly painless, and it was over in just a few seconds. “Okay, hold on, let me scan this,” Angela let go of his skin and held the blade up under a scanner on her holopad. Within a few seconds, the screen dinged and she breathed a sigh of relief. “You want the good or the bad news first?”

“Bad, I guess?” Jesse said slowly, pulling his arm back.

“Bad is you have mange, but that’s to be expected,” Angela put the blade into a biohazard bin. “But the good is that it’s demodectic.”

“And that is the one… only dogs get?” Jesse asked.

“Yeah, it explains why you only have mange when shifted,” Angela nodded, there was a light in her eyes that Jesse was surprised to see. Either she was excited about figuring out more about werewolves, or she actually wanted to help him. “So we picked up some medicated shampoo a little bit ago, and when we’re back in Zurich we’ll get a better treatment going on, Jesse. Hopefully make it so your skin heals faster and your fur also grows back faster.”

Jesse looked down at his skin, it was crusted over and disgusting. The small bits of fur that remained on him were matted and greasy. He knew how repulsive he looked then, and was almost grateful that Angela hadn’t said anything.

He looked like a monster.

“You ain’t gonna shave me again, are you?” Jesse asked.

“Your fur’s badly matted but I think it would be a waste of time to do anything before your skin started healing,” she shoved a bottle of shampoo in Jesse’s hand. It was a goddamned dog shampoo for dogs with severe mange. God fucking dammit. “There’s a shower, and I want you to scrub your entire body with this to the best of your ability.”

“I’m not a dog.”

“They don’t sell mange shampoo for people, Jesse,” Angela said firmly. “Just go clean yourself off so we can get the worst of this taken care of. When we’re back in Zurich I’ll get a better treatment laid out.”

“Or I could just not shift, and wait so I don’t have to debase myself usin’ shampoo made for goddamned dogs.”

Jesse saw Angela’s jaw clench, “Just clean yourself off, Jesse.”

Unhappily, Jesse stormed into the shower, which barely fit him, and slowly began to clean himself off with the mange shampoo. It was humiliating, but at least he was getting clean, was clearing away the pain and sickness of Deadlock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Blaise picked up mange shampoo she also bought a cake for Gabe that had "Sorry you got bit by a werewolf" on it  
> \---  
> Follow me online @small2233


	6. Chapter 5 -- 2055

Gabriel had nearly had it with Jesse. A week and a half had passed since the Deadlock bust. A week and a half of Jesse McCree being the most goddamned miserable person Gabriel had ever had the displeasure of working with.

Even  _ Dupont _ complained about him, Dupont with the ability to befriend almost anybody. He was uncooperative, moody, and was about an inch away from getting in a fist fight at any given moment. Gabriel had regretted his choice to add Jesse to the Blackwatch roster nearly immediately.

Of course, Gabriel hadn’t been in the best mood himself. Shortly after they got back in Zurich, he had gotten a ping on his comm. He was removed from any active field duty until further notice. He had been expecting it, but it felt like pouring lemon juice into a wound already rubbed down with salt. And then setting the entire thing on fire just for good measure.

Jesse had just made things worse with his infuriating ability to get into trouble, but also just  _ barely  _ stay shy of anything that deserved actual punishment. He’d do what you told him, after twenty minutes of bitching, moaning, and insults. He’d insult you, but back off just enough before punishments were given out. He wouldn’t start fights, but he’d provoke people enough that after they threw the first punch, he stood smug and smiling through a bloody nose that he technically didn’t cause.

The biggest problem was how damn talented he was. Gabriel had him on weapons training, one of the few things he could assign Jesse to do with minimal complaining, and he proved to be a crackshot with nearly any gun given to him. But for reasons unknown to Gabriel, he preferred a basic six shooter over any of the higher tech guns he was offered.

Gabriel watched from a monitoring room as Jesse shot down wave after wave of bots. It was almost scary how efficient he was, each shot brought down a bot. Each in the same spot — the middle of their heads.

“Show me what you did in the warehouse,” Gabriel ordered over the comms. He steepled his fingers as he stared at the screen and pulled up a few more angles. He wanted to see how Jesse had taken his assets down so quickly. 

“Fuck you I ain’t doing that,” Jesse spat, words punctuated with gunshots and Gabriel rubbed at his eyes. Of course he wasn’t going to get the kid to listen to him. It’s not like he was his commanding officer or anything.

“Do it, McCree, and you’ll get an extra serving at dinner tonight,” Gabriel said and watched, half amused as Jesse almost shut up — he could see Jesse’s mouth moving in a low grumble — and stared at the moving bots.

In a flash of movement almost too quick to process, Jesse threw extra bullets into the air, fired off six shots within a second, and flicked the spent cases free from the cylinder. Gabriel had thought he was done, but Jesse caught the bullets he had thrown  _ with _ the cylinder, reloading the gun in a flash, and fired them off as well, clearing out the remaining six bots.

Gabriel let out a low whistle, impressed despite himself. That trick of Jesse’s had taken out nearly half his assets in a second, but it was incredible. He threw a flash drive in the computer to download the video file for later reference to study.

“Am I done yet?” Jesse scowled at the camera in the training range. 

“With guns, yes,” Gabriel pocketed the drive and stood up. “You’re onto hand to hand to hand with me now.”

“I don’t do hand to hand.”

“Guess what, McCree, you do what I tell you to do. And right now, that’s hand to hand,” in truth Gabriel was just itching to do anything. Ana and Angela had pulled him aside shortly after he got the ping to let him know that until the werewolf situation was sorted, he wasn’t allowed to spar with any of his assets. It was too dangerous to have him close to them in a situation where he could accidentally bite them or bodily fluids could be exchanged. He knew that, but it still was the damn worst. 

He was essentially confined to paperwork and overseeing training and it made his skin crawl. He ran a hand along the still healing wound on his neck and let out a shuddering breath. He had almost gotten over the panic and fear of getting bit by a werewolf, but he was a man who solved everything by action. Evil robot uprising? Sign up to shoot them. Secret program to make super soldiers to take on the evil robots even better? Sign up so he could shoot them better. Strike team to put an end to the Crisis? Well he had two shotguns, might as well put them to good use. He couldn’t shoot the lycanthropy away. Well, he could, but he wasn’t  _ that  _ desperate.

The only thing he had been able to do was workout. So workout he did, if he wasn’t doing paperwork or overseeing (but not getting involved with, Ana had made  _ that _ clear) training, he was in the gym, lifting weights or running to the point of exhaustion.

He hadn’t been able to bring himself to spar with Jesse before that moment. The kid was too damn likely to run off, Gabriel being his superior officer be damned. He apparently had some idea in his head that since he bit Gabriel, he was in charge. But Jesse hadn’t been allowed to spar with any of the other agents either, so he needed to be tested.

Jesse was scowling when Gabriel entered the practice range. But that wasn’t anything unusual, Gabriel didn’t think he had seen Jesse as much as crack a grin in past week and a half. According to Angela, he had warmed up slightly to her, had begun spending his free time in the infirmary, but to everybody else he was rude and snappish.

“I don’t wanna do this,” Jesse said.

“You’re gonna learn how to fight properly,” Gabriel replied. “Now come at me like you would anybody else, but no biting.”

“Wasn’t plannin’ on it,” Jesse muttered under his breath. “You taste disgusting anyway.” Gabriel drew his lips into a thin line, but said nothing. Some things just weren’t worth fighting Jesse on.

Jesse charged at Gabriel, easy to predict, easier to dodge. Gabriel sidestepped him with ease, letting Jesse barrel past him, stumbling as he tried to slow himself down.

“Think before you charge in,” Gabriel turned around to face Jesse again. “Don’t make it so easy to read your moves.”

Jesse grumbled something under his breath and spun around to face Gabriel again. He took a moment and charged in again, Gabriel didn’t sidestep Jesse that time. No, he instead grabbed Jesse’s shoulder and threw him to the side. Jesse stumbled and nearly fell over, but just barely caught himself.

Jesse stared at Gabriel with fury in his eyes and charged in for the third time, his fists flew wildly and one managed to clock Gabriel in the side. Gabriel elbowed him in the side and Jesse howled in pain.

“Don’t let your guard down, McCree,” Gabriel said as  _ he _ moved in and littered lightning quick punches to Jesse. “You got the better of me before because you surprised me. You’re going to be put on a strict training regiment to get you up to speed with actual  _ technique _ for fighting.”

Jesse’s lips curled, “Surprise?” He muttered. “I’ll show you a surprise.”

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed as Jesse backed up and slowly prowled around him. He wasn’t sure what the kid had meant by showing a surprise, but he was wary.

Jesse was inhumanly quick when he finally moved in towards Gabriel. The charge was still easy to read, and would have been easy to dodge, but Jesse moved faster than any human, than Gabriel had expected. A lightning burst of pain flickered across Gabriel’s face as Jesse raked razor sharp claws down his face.

Gabriel hissed in pain and moved against Jesse in instinct. He grabbed hard on the back of his neck to forced him to the ground, but as soon as he put pressure on Jesse’s neck, he went completely limp.

Jesse nearly fell to the ground, only Gabriel’s strong grip kept him upright. Gabriel’s eyebrows knit together in concern as he gently set Jesse to the ground and released his neck.

“Don’t do that again,” Jesse’s eyes were wild in fear as soon as Gabriel let go.

“What was that?”

“Don’t you ever fuckin’ scruff me again,” Jesse’s breath hitched and pity welled in Gabriel’s chest. From what he gathered from Jesse’s behavior, from small things he let slip, Deadlock hadn’t been good to him. He was a nightmare pain in the ass, but something caused him to act out the way he did.

“McCree, let me know what just happened.”

“You scruffed me.”

“Tell me what that means, why did you go limp?”

Jesse’s jaw tightened, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“I’ll let you go run to the infirmary and be done with training if you tell me what scruffing does. Is it going to be something I’ll have to worry about?”

“Maybe, I don’t know,” Jesse said after a moment. “I was the only one of the male wolves in Deadlock that scruffing affected.” His usually slow drawl was even slower, his accent even thicker as he spoke. He obviously didn’t want to talk about it. “Don’t you dare fucking try that again on me. I don’t give a shit about any of your shit, you’re not scruffin’ me again.”

“I’m not going to scruff you again. But you’ll need to have that reaction trained out of you, if you get scruffed in a combat situation, you need to not go completely limp.”

“It’s biology.”

“You’re going to have to fight it,” Gabriel said. “Go get a shower and you’re dismissed.”

Jesse stood up on shaky legs and glared at Gabriel as he walked off towards the showers. Gabriel bit back a sigh as he ran his hands down the bleeding, shallow cuts on his face. They probably weren’t going to scar, but the blood welling in them was a source of frustration.

Gabriel headed out to his quarters and thankfully he didn’t run into anybody or any problems that Jesse had caused that he needed to take care of on his way back. He just wanted to get a shower and clean the blood from his face.

He knew he needed to figure out a way to handle Jesse. The kid was traumatized by something, but that didn’t mean his behavior wasn’t intolerable to work with. Hell, Gabriel wouldn’t have been surprised if Jesse had been acting out purposefully to get kicked out. Unluckily for him, Gabriel Reyes wasn’t a man to give up on something he had sunk his teeth in.

Gabriel sighed deeply as he keyed in the code to enter his apartment. He had expected a world of problems with Blackwatch, but not a traumatized teenage werewolf. Especially not being bitten by that werewolf.

He dropped the flash drive down on his counter on his way to his bedroom. That was something he’d have to study personally later on. But at that moment, he just wanted to clean himself of blood and sweat.

As Gabriel walked into his bedroom, his comm buzzed. He groaned softly as he pulled it out, and the screen flashed with a new appointment in an hour and a half. It was with the geneticist Jack had hired a month or two previous, Moira O’Deorain. Angela had mentioned the potential of her seeing if she could stop the lycanthropy a few days earlier, but he had heard nothing more until that ping.

“Athena, dial the Strike Commander for me,” Gabriel said as he pulled off his shirt, turned on the shower, and grabbed some antiseptic and gauze. The wounds on his face were already healing, but he wanted to scrub them first.

“Of course, Commander,” Athena’s voice rang loudly through his comm and was quickly replaced by the dial tone.

“Is something wrong, Gabriel?” Jack answered almost immediately.

“Who scheduled the appointment with Dr. O’Deorain?” Gabriel asked, a slight hiss of pain left his mouth as he wiped the scratches down.

There was near silence for a moment, the only sounds, that of the keyboard as Jack typed. “It looks like she scheduled it,” Jack said. “Is something wrong?”

Gabriel frowned, “She gave me an hour and a half to make this appointment.”

“I’ll have a word with her,” Jack said. He took a deep breath and paused for a moment. “Hey, Gabe?”

“What is it?”

“Look I—“ Jack cut himself off. “Could I stop by tonight?”

Gabriel’s eyebrows furrowed as he tossed the gauze he used to clean his scratches. “I guess? What do you need.”

“I’ll explain then,” Jack’s voice was tense, almost awkward and self conscious. “I just have to do this.”

Gabriel looked at his watch, “Hopefully Dr. O’Deorain will be done with me by about six, so I could have dinner ready by seven if you’d want to stop by for that?” Nothing sounded less pleasant than eating dinner with Jack, but he had to offer. Hopefully Jack would say no, that he only needed to stop by briefly.

“Yeah,” a deep breath, “Yeah, that sounds good.” God  _ dammit _ . “Is there anything I’d need to bring?”

“Just yourself, I’ll have a...” he paused as he thought about what to cook. He had just been planning on a bowl of cereal and an apple for dinner, but he couldn’t serve that to guests. Even to Jack. “Pork loin, some potatoes, and veg in the oven.”

“I’ll see you then, Gabe,” Jack said.

“Sounds great,” Gabriel said. He hung up and groaned. He wasn’t looking forward to whatever bullshit Jack wanted to throw on him that evening. Especially not after Jesse’s bullshit and whatever Dr. O’Deorain was going to do to him after giving him a goddamn hour and a half to meet her appointment.

\---

“Dr. O’Deorain?” Gabriel walked through the open door to the lab his comm said to go to. He wasn’t sure if it was the right room, the lights inside were dim, and he didn’t see anybody. He groped along the wall for a light switch, and after a few seconds of searching he found one and switched on the lights.

“Turn those off,” a voice hissed. “I’m in the middle of an experiment.”

Gabriel frowned and turned the lights back off. “I’m exactly on time for when you wanted me to be here, I don’t appreciate being made to wait.”

“Well you’re going to have to,” O’Deorain said. “Because this genetic material is on a timer until it’s useless.”

“I’m sure you’re already aware of this, Dr. O’Deorain, but I’m also on a timer,” Gabriel said dryly and leaned against the wall. “And you were the one to schedule this appointment, so I’d appreciate it if you’d not waste my time.”

“Sit in the chair over there,” O’Deorain said. “And just Moira is fine.” Gabriel’s eyes scanned the dark room and landed on what he assumed to be the chair Moira had talked about. “Take off your shirt when you sit down and be ready to have your blood drawn,” Moira said as Gabriel walked over to the chair.

Gabriel bit back a retort and just stripped from his shirt. He was used to being poked and prodded by asshole doctors from his days in the SEP. The problem came in that he had thought he was  _ done _ with being a test subject for doctors with egos when he finished with the program.

At least thirty minutes passed before Moira finally turned her attention to Gabriel. The lights switched on as she walked over.

When she got to Gabriel, she hooked up a few monitors to his chest. She tapped her eyepiece a few times, Gabriel presumed it was to get whatever the monitors were monitoring into her field of view.

“Hold your arm out,” Moira instructed as she grabbed some rubbing alcohol and a swab. Gabriel did as he was told and she rubbed his arm down before sticking a needle directly into the vein. “I’m going to run my own blood tests on you. I know the medical labs have done this already, but I have other things I want to look for.”

“Like what?” Gabriel asked.

“It doesn’t matter to you,” Moira said as she filled up a few vials. “It’ll let me know if this has progressed far enough to become untreatable.”

“And why was this not done immediately then?”

“Because it was probably already untreatable. But this will give me more information, the full moon is in a week and a half.”

“And?” Gabriel clenched and unclenched his hand to help with the blood flow.

“And you’ll be taking an hour or two out of your day each and every day before the full moon so I can run tests on you,” Moira clamped the tube and pulled the needle from Gabriel’s arm. “I want to see the boy as well.”

Gabriel hesitated, “The only doctor he trusts is Dr. Ziegler. He’s threatened to get violent if any other doctor treated him.”

Moira frowned, “Then have her get me blood for testing.” She handed Gabriel some gauze. 

“You’ll have to ask that of her yourself, Doctor.” Gabriel said. He pressed the gauze Moira had given him down onto the bleeding pinprick, blood being drawn was old hat for him.

“Maybe,” Moira hummed as she set three of the vials down. “I’m going to run preliminary tests on this vial, two of the remaining three will be used for some other tests, and the final will be used as a comparison for after the full moon.”

Gabriel’s eyebrows were knit close together, “So what’s the plan then?”

“Monitoring for now,” Moira placed the vial in her hands in a machine. “I wish I would have been able to get a baseline of you from before you had gotten bitten, the closest is the Strike Commander, but I believe that you two had different treatments in the SEP.”

“I should have blood results on file,” Gabriel pulled the gauze away from his arm, the pin prick from the needle had already healed up.

“Not useful for what I need,” Moira typed something into a holoscreen as results dinged. “I also want you to wear monitors are you exercise and report any unusual aches or pains.”

“Am I back in the the SEP?” Gabriel laughed. “What type of monitors?”

“I’ll have two bracelets delivered to you in the morning,” Moira still was staring at screens. “One for you and one for the boy. Make sure he wears it.”

Gabriel grimaced, “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get him to wear it.”

“Get it done, Commander Reyes,” Moria sent away the holoscreen. “This is all I need from you for today, have some orange juice and you’re free to leave,” she reached underneath one of the tables and pulled out a bottle.

Gabriel grabbed the bottle as she came close to him. It was slightly warm, but he forced himself to drink it all down anyway. “What’s gonna happen on the full moon?”

Moira was silent as she pulled the monitors free from his chest. After a moment she said, “I’ll be there along with Dr. Ziegler and her team. You’ll be locked into a blast safe room with several inch thick one way glass.” She paused her speaking to scribble down a note on a tablet. “I believe you’ll be restrained, and after this first shift I’ll be working on a cocktail of drugs to assist with it.”

“Lovely,” Gabriel threw his shirt back on and stood up. “Same time tomorrow?”

Moira hummed a response and walked back to where she had been before. Gabriel frowned and stood up. “I’ll be going then,” he said slowly to no response from Moira.

Yup, definitely SEP part two, werewolf edition. Fucking fantastic.

\--- 

Gabriel stared longingly at the cereal he had been planning on eating for dinner as he set a tray of mixed vegetables and small potatoes into the oven alongside a seasoned pork loin he had picked up at the grocery store on base earlier that week.

He didn’t want to deal with Jack’s bullshit. All he wanted to do was watch the news and some sports in his boxers and eat cereal. Burning his eyes out with hot pokers sounded more pleasant than listening to Jack complain about how hard it is to deal with the press.

Gabriel set a timer for the food and walked over to his living room where he pulled out his tablet and switched on the news. He had some reports he had to fill out, some related to problems Jesse called, one repair form for the damage caused by the scientists tinkering with the hard light tech in Blaise’s arm, and some more about the deaths of the assets.

Those were the hardest reports for Gabriel to fill out. The six assets Jesse had killed were incredible people. Their skills were unmatched, but they were snuffed out in an instant by a brat with a rusty six shooter. But the worst part was their families would never know what happened to them. They’d receive the ashes of their bodies and a letter thanking them for their service for a private security company.

Jesse had made the mistake of bad mouthing the assets he had killed to James Lane, a former member of MI6 from Northern Ireland. Lane nearly broke Jesse’s jaw afterwards, Jesse spent the rest of the day in the infirmary and Gabriel pretended to reprimand Lane.

All of his assets expected to be killed in the line of duty, but Gabriel hadn’t expected them to have been killed the way that they were.

Gabriel had to take a break from the reports at the third report for the dead assets. It was a difficult and draining task. There was a reason he had been putting off filling out the forms.

Gabriel’s attention flickered to the news as he looked for anything to distract him from the reports. Some more Deadlock members had been apprehended crossing the Mexican border. Ana was on, speaking about how Overwatch wouldn’t rest until Deadlock was completely cleared out.

Gabriel switched the channel to watch some soccer game that was going on. He wasn’t in the mood to listen to anything related to the Deadlock gang.

Gabriel didn’t care as much about soccer as he did football or basketball, but he was enough of a fan to get absorbed into the match on the tv as he waited for his dinner to finish cooking. It was some game between Manchester United and another team, and he found himself cheering for the other team out of principle. 

A knock sounded on his door and Gabriel checked the time. It was fifteen till seven, Jack was early. Because of course he was.

Gabriel stood up slowly and walked to the door. He took a deep breath to steel himself before he opened the door to a fresh wave of Jack Morrison Brand Bullshit.

“Hey, Jack,” Gabriel plastered a fake grin on his face as he opened the door.

“You don’t have to pretend to be happy about this, Gabe,” Jack said as Gabriel moved to the side to let him in. “I know our friendship has been…  _ strained _ for the past several months.”

_ Strained is the understatement of the year _ , Gabriel thought as he walked Jack to his kitchen. “It’s fine, Jack,” Gabriel said stiffly.

“It— it’s not fine,” Jack said slowly. “I’ve been a terrible friend,” he ran a hand through his hair nervously as he set the bag he carried with him down on the table. It hit with a heavy  _ thunk  _ so Gabriel got curious as to what was in it. “And right now, with everything that’s happening, I…” He trailed off and exhaled a shaky breath. “I just want us to start over. You were there for me in the SEP, I wa— I want to be there for you during this.”

Gabriel was shocked. He hadn’t expected Jack to apologize, to admit to his mistakes. Jack was the one person to equal Gabriel in hardheadedness. “I don’t really know what to say,” Gabriel said after a moment. “I hadn’t really been expecting this. But Jack,” he let out a shaky breath of his own as he rubbed at the wound on his neck. “Listen you weren’t— I, uh— look we both fucked up.”

“I just want to be friends again, Gabe,” Jack’s voice was a whisper and his knuckles were white from clenching his fists tight. “I hate this,” he motioned vaguely. “This tension we have, I hate hating you. I wouldn’t have gotten through the SEP without you, we wouldn’t have gotten through the  _ Crisis _ without you. And now we hate each other because of these fucking jobs that were forced onto us.” Jack scratched at an old scar on his forearm from where an injection reacted poorly and wrecked the skin. “When you were in that room, your panic attack, it made me wake up and realize that I’ve treated you so badly, Gabe. I’m sorry.”

Tears pricked at the corner of Gabriel’s eyes and relief rushed over him. All of the tension and bitterness that he had been holding at Jack were washing away. “I’m sorry too, Jack,” he said shakily. “You weren’t the only one that fucked up. I fucked up too, I should have just talked to you.” His eyesight was blurry with tears, but he could see tears welling in Jack’s own eyes. “I want to start over, Jack. I want to be your friend again.” He swallowed thickly around the lump in his throat. But his heart felt lighter than it had in months.

Jack smiled and tears fell freely from his eyes, “I’m so sorry for everything, Gabe.”

Gabriel started crying too, tears of relief, tears of knowing how close he had come to irreparably ruining a friendship, tears over everything. “I’m afraid. I’m so afraid of what’s gonna happen to me. What if I hurt somebody, Jack?” Gabriel’s voice was thick with tears. 

“I don’t know,” Jack cautiously walked towards Gabriel and held his arms out slightly. Gabriel closed the distance, hugged him tightly, and freely sobbed into his shoulder. “But Gabe, I’ll be there for you. I’m not gonna ruin things like I did before.”

Gabriel said nothing, he just hugged Jack tighter and cried until he couldn’t cry any more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! I was travelling all day yesterday after visiting my extended family for Thanksgiving so I wasn't able to write yesterday lol
> 
> I've been looking forward to getting to the start of Gabe and Jack repairing their friendship for a while now haha so I'm glad to finally have that arc of this fic starting
> 
> \---  
> Follow me online @smalls2233


	7. Chapter 6 -- 2055

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A small content warning for etemophobia in this chapter. It's not meant to be anything sexy, but there is some vomiting. Feel free to skip from "Gabriel couldn’t hold food down." to “Get Jack out first,” if you need to skip that part

It was like going through the SEP again, Gabriel quickly found out as the full moon drew closer. One day he was fine, able to pretend that he  _ hadn’t  _ been bit by a werewolf, that he wasn’t going to turn into a giant dog. And then the next, it felt like he was hit by a truck.

Everything ached, it was like the round of shots that had suppressed his immune system and he nearly died from a cold. Even dim light was too bright, every sound left him with a pounding migraine, the smells of the humans around base made him nauseous. It was miserable.

And that was only the first day of the week leading up to the full moon. Every following day brought new problems. One day, Gabriel felt like his teeth were going to fall out, he could barely move his mouth without pain. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and never leave.

But that wasn’t going to be allowed, because of course not. On the first reports of pain, Gabriel was moved to a monitoring room in the infirmary. The beeps of the machines were like needles being driven right through his skull on the third day of the pain. The smell of the antiseptic burned his nose and lungs the fourth.

On the fifth, and every subsequent day, Gabriel was snapping and damn near snarling at all of the nurses and doctors. Some rational part of his mind was mortified at the behavior, but his body was operating almost out of his control. 

At that point, he became heavily sedated. His aggression was peaking, and both Angela and Moira said it was too dangerous to have him unrestrained and unsedated. Nobody was sure how the SEP enhancements would affect the lycanthropy, or if they’d affect it at all. When Jesse was asked, he grunted and shrugged. But Moira had speculated that his aggression would be heightened and he’d probably be stronger than Jesse.

The sedation helped with the pain, to an extent, but it made the nausea worse. It played with the smells of human and antiseptic in the air to make him horrifically ill. So Angela added on anti-nausea medication to the handful of pills Moira had put him on, and that worked for a bit.

He wasn’t sure if the near constant nosebleed he had spotted at the tail end of the fifth day was from the shift or from the cocktail of pills, but all he could think of was the SEP. Back in the program, as soon as somebody sported a nosebleed, it was lights out for them.

That fear made the aggression worse, which made the pain worse, which made the nausea worse. It was a cycle of hell that the doctors were stumped on how to fix. The final few days until the full moon made Gabriel a wreck.

\---

The week leading up to the full moon was one of the least eventful weeks that Jesse had experienced in Overwatch. The majority of the focus had shifted to Gabriel which left Jesse mostly alone, something he was utterly fine with.

The most that had happened was, when Jesse had snuck into Angela’s office for a nap, he had been asked about the symptoms, if he was experiencing them, if he knew why they were happening to Gabriel, if he knew how the SEP would affect Gabriel’s shift.

“I don’t know,” Jesse shrugged as he settled down on Angela’s couch, stomach comfortably full from the food he had swiped from the mess on the way there. “Never had shit like that, I was born a wolf.”

Angela looked at him, there were dark circles under her eyes and several empty mugs of coffee on her desk, “Then do you know at  _ all _ why this is happening to Gabriel?”

“New wolves have bad first shifts,” Jesse pulled the blankets around him tighter and tipped his hat over his eyes. “I’m takin’ a nap don’t bother me.”

“Jesse, this is a crisis.”

“The glorious Commander Reyes ain’t my problem.”

“You bit him.”

“Jesse McCree is asleep,” Jesse grumbled. “Ask again later.”

Angela grumbled something, but Jesse didn’t catch it as he fell soundly asleep.

Jesse woke up hours later to find Angela asleep at her desk. The lights in the office were dimmed, the blue glow of the holoscreens on her desk were the main source of illumination in the room. 

He stood up slowly, stomach already growling. He took a few steps towards the door before he eyed the blanket he had left on the couch. Sighing softly, he walked back to the couch and grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around Angela’s shoulders.

Jesse froze as Angela stirred slightly. “Jesse?” Angela asked drowsily, eyes slit open.

“...No?” Jesse said slowly and backed off a few nervous steps.

Angela rubbed her eyes, “How long was I asleep?”

Jesse frowned, “How the fuck should I know?”

“Don’t be a dick,” Angela shuffled mugs of coffee around her desk to try and find one that still was partially full. Jesse watched in minor disgust as she chugged down cold coffee.

Jesse’s stomach decided that it was time to growl embarrassingly loud again and he froze. Angela looked at him, “Did you have dinner?” Jesse’s jaw worked as he tried to decide whether or not to answer. “Jesse, please don’t make me have to work to get a simple answer from you.”

“It’s not enough food,” Jesse said slowly, voice barely above a whisper. “I need more before the full moon.”

Angela’s brows knit together, “Jesse, why didn’t you tell anybody? I can set you up to get more food at a meal, or something to get more food throughout the day.”

_ Because I don’t want you knowing anything you could use against me _ , Jesse answered in his mind. “I dunno,” he lied weakly.

“Look, I need to take a walk and get more coffee anyway, I’ll get you set up to get more meals at the mess,” Angela stood up and stretched. Jesse heard her joints crack, and he wondered briefly just how long she had been sitting there. He forced himself to ignore the way her turtleneck rode up as she stretched, forced himself not to stare at the sliver of skin. He didn’t need that shit in his life.

Angela collected several of her mugs, “Be useful and grab some of these mugs.”

“I’m not your servant,” Jesse grumbled but he grabbed the remaining mugs anyway. 

“I’m going to put you on several regular sized meals a day rather than three larger meals,” Angela ignored his complaints. Which wasn’t surprising as she spent most the time with Jesse parsing through his complaints and shutdowns in order to figure out what he was really saying or needed. “Is there anything in particular you need before the full moon?”

“Protein,” Jesse said slowly, he was mostly just guessing. If he were to say the truth to Angela, he’d tell her that when he was with Deadlock, he was never fully fed before the full moon. Or ever, really. “Meats and stuff… Probably red meat?”

Angela nodded, “I’m gonna up the caloric intake per meal, though it’s already higher than normal.”

“Sorry,” Jesse said softly.

Angela looked at Jesse, “Jesse, why are you apologizing?”

Jesse clamped his jaw shut and said nothing. Angela sighed softly, “Look, Jesse, you have nothing to apologize for. I need you to tell me things like this so we can accommodate you.” She nudged him slightly with her elbow, “Plus, friends tell each other things like this.”

“I’m just not used to things like this,” Jesse whispered, his eyes flickered to his tattoo. “Deadlock… Deadlock wasn’t good for me.”

“We’re not Deadlock,” Angela said, voice gentle. “Jesse, I just want to help you.”

“I don’t like how the other doctors look at me, especially that creepy one,” Jesse said.

“Creepy one?” Angela asked.

“The chick with the red hair,” Jesse said. “I don’t like her.”

“I’m your primary doctor,” Angela replied. Jesse knew she was refraining from adding  _ because you threatened bodily harm to literally every other doctor who looked at you _ . “Dr. O’Deorain is only working with Gabriel because she wants to see if she can remove the lycanthropy from him.”

Jesse stopped suddenly and a mug dropped from his hand. “She what now?”

“Jesse?”

Rage flashed in Jesse’s gut, “She’s not gonna fuckin’ do that.”

“Calm down, Jesse.”

“ _ No _ ,” Jesse snarled and barely refrained from slamming his fist against the wall. “Stop her from doin’ that. I’m not gonna let her fuck with that.”

“Gabriel needs to have this as an option. We wouldn’t use it on you.”

Jesse took several small steps back from Angela, “That’s what you’re sayin’ now. But as soon as you figure out how to strip it from people, as  _ soon  _ as I behave in a way you wouldn’t like, you’d take it from me.” His breath came out in ragged pants as he stared at Angela with wild, panicked eyes. “I was never human, don’t even  _ think  _ about makin’ something to ruin me like that.”

“Jesse, wait,” Angela grabbed at Jesse’s shoulder but he shook her off.

“Fuck off,” Jesse spat. “Take your mugs and leave me alone.”

Angela squeezed her eyes shut, “Come on Jesse, just come eat and you’ll feel better.”

“Feel better? How the fuck would you feel if it turned out that I was suddenly trying to figure out a way to strip an entire part of who you are from you?”

“Like how you bit Gabriel and took away his humanity?” Angela snapped. “Because I’m not sure if there’s much of a difference here, except it has a potential — that we never even  _ considered  _ — of turning on you.”

“Leave me alone,” Jesse snarled. “I’m goin’ back to my quarters and I’ll just eat a protein bar or something.”

\---

Gabriel couldn’t hold food down. He tried on request of Angela after she had found out that wolves need more calories before the full moon, but even the smell of food sent his stomach rolling. He tried choking down a bowl of plain chicken broth and bread, but near immediately threw it up.

“How much longer until the full moon?” Gabriel croaked out one morning, he was near delirious with a fever. His mouth still tasted of vomit.

“It’s tonight,” Jack said softly. “I’m here to take you to the safe room since I’m pretty much the only one here who can match you in strength.”

Gabriel shut his eyes, “They really should have a bot doing this, not you.”

“You’re not gonna bite me, Gabe,” Jack laughed.

“I don’t know if I am or not, Jack,” Gabriel replied. “I’ve been going between being conscious and fine one moment and the next I’m snarling and snapping at anybody coming near me.”

“Trust me, Gabe,” Jack said softly.

“It’s not you I don’t trust. I…” Gabriel trailed off. “Jack, just the  _ smell  _ of you is driving me mad. And it’s not just your cologne.”

“Gabe I’ll be fine.”

A flicker of annoyance flashed in Gabriel’s gut. This was why he and Jack had drifted apart, because Jack didn’t know when to quit, didn’t know when Gabriel didn’t want him there. “You’re not doing this,” Gabriel growled.

“Get the fuck over yourself, Gabe,” Jack snapped. “I’m doing this because I’m not going to put anybody else at risk.”

“We have bots.”

“Bots that you and I have both torn through like they’re butter and we’re a hot knife.”

“At least they’re not at risk of becoming  _ this _ ,” Gabriel snarled. “One wrong move, the smallest fucking bite, and you’re going to be tied up next month, or tonight, I don’t fucking know how this works.” He needed to quell the anger, but it was hard, his mind had latched onto it and fanned the flames.

“Then I won’t make a wrong move.”

“You don’t understand,” Gabriel snapped.

“I do understand,” Jack said flatly. “Which is why I’m not allowing anybody else to risk this. You’ll be sedated and restrained, you’ll have a muzzle. It’s as safe as I can make it.”

“As safe as you can make it isn’t safe enough.”

“It’s going to have to be,” Jack snapped. “We have about five hours until the sun sets and we need to have you restrained and in the safe room before then, since McCree hasn’t been helpful in giving us a timeline.”

Gabriel’s rage subsided, “What’s the plan with him?” He sighed and felt a headache building on top of everything.

“He’s gonna be put into the room next to yours for observation,” Jack said. “He said he won’t go feral, but we need to be safe.”

“Yeah, yeah that’s reasonable. I thi--” Gabriel cut himself off as a fresh wave of nausea rolled through him. “Give me a bedpan,” he croaked. “I’m gonna be sick.”

Jack scrambled to grab a clean bedpan while Gabriel tried to will away the nausea. He managed to hold it back until Jack shoved the pan into his hand and he immediately retched up bile and blood. His throat burned and blood flowed from his nose again. 

“Call Angela,” Gabriel moaned in pain between bouts of retching. His hands were shaking and it felt like he was being stabbed in the stomach.

Gabriel looked up and saw Jack staring at him, quivering. Immediately his mind flashed back to the SEP where Jack had nearly died, where Jack’s bunkmate  _ did _ die in a way almost exactly the same way as Gabriel was at that moment. Jack had been in the infirmary for over a month, had come inches away from death when he was barely twenty.

Gabriel tried to comfort Jack, to say something to pull him out of his head, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he was dry heaving. Blood streamed down Gabriel’s face and chin, matting his goatee. 

“Gabe,” Jack’s voice cracked as he stared at Gabriel. He had stopped trembling, but he was stood as still as a statue. His knuckles were as white as his face, drained entirely of color.

Gabriel weakly and blindly fumbled around until he could find the button to call a doctor to his room. Jack was going to be no help, the scene in front of him had obviously triggered him. Fuck, Gabriel would have been triggered if he had seen it. Too many people he had known had died because of shit like this.

“Gabriel, what’s wrong?” Angela rushed into the room, clipboard in hand. She took in the scene and let out a low, “Oh no.” She knew of Jack’s triggers, of what happened in the SEP and the crisis.

“Get Jack out of here,” Gabriel feebly choked out before he dry heaved again. His head felt like it was going to explode, his stomach like somebody was clawing it apart from the inside.

“Gabriel, we need to sedate you before this gets worse,” Angela said slowly.

“Get Jack out first,” Gabriel snarled. “He shouldn’t be seeing this.” Tears leaked from Jack’s eyes as he stared at Gabriel. 

“Jack,” Angela said gently as she walked over to Jack and stood next to him, not daring to risk touching him and setting him off further. “You need to get out of here.”

Jack mechanically turned to face Angela, tears silently dripping down his face. “Yeah,” he croaked out. He took a few slow steps away before stopping again.

“Jack, come on, you need to get out of here,” Angela said. Jack nodded and slowly began walking, when he was out of the room he collapsed against the wall.

“Angela, you need to see to him,” Gabriel said, the wave of nausea was over but the pounding in his head was even worse and his body was convulsing in shivers.

“I need to sedate you first,” Angela said. “You need to be put into the safe room, I think the shift is gonna start with you soon.”

“Has it started with McCree yet?”

Angela shook her head slightly, “He’s shifted, but he said he did it voluntarily. Said something about the shift only being bad with him if he didn’t control it.”

“I thi—“ Gabriel screamed in pain as the muscles in his arm spasmed.

“Gabriel, I’m going to sedate you right now,” Angela said firmly.

Gabriel tried to protest, but his body wouldn’t listen to him. Half of his body was locked up and frozen while the other half was convulsing and twitching. Panic bubbled in his chest as he lost control of his limbs. And then everything went black as Angela injected him with sedative.

\---

“I don’t need to be locked up,” Jesse snarled unhappily as Angela told him that he was to be placed in a safe room for observation and in case he lost control. “I’m completely in control of myself.”

Angela’s jaw was tight, “It’s for the safety of everybody else here. You’ve already bit somebody and lost control.”

“I lost control because I was threatened and had a damn panic attack,” Jesse snapped. “I’ve been shiftin’ at the full moon for eighteen years, I know how to control myself.”

“Then if you can control yourself, you’ll be free to stay in your room next month,” Angela said. “But we need to do this, Jesse.”

Jesse’s ears flicked and tail twitched in annoyance. “I don’t like this, I said no cages.”

“This isn’t a cage, it’s a safe room.”

“Can I unlock the door from the inside?”

“No, but—“

“It’s a cage.”

“Jesse, it’s just this once. We need to do this so we can compare data with Gabriel.”

“I’m not being put in another cage, and good luck gettin’ me to move if I don’t want to,” Jesse said flatly. It was the truth, in the few weeks he had been with overwatch, he was already beginning to gain muscle and weight back. His fur was still patchy and thin, but he was worlds healthier than he had been. Plus, he had a starting point of being well over seven feet tall fully shifted. He wasn’t moving if he didn’t want to.

“Just do this for me,” Angela sounded exhausted. “I’m currently trying to handle the nightmare with Gabriel, just make my life easier and do this for me without complaining.”

“I don’t want to be caged.”

“It’s a nice room, Jesse. You can just spend the night watching TV or sleeping.”

“It’s a nice  _ cage _ ,” Jesse folded his massive arms across his chest. “I had two goddamned requirements. No muzzles and no cages.”

“It’s just this once. Jesse, just do this for me,” Angela pinched the bridge of her nose with two fingers. “As soon as the night’s over, you’ll go back to the normal day to day stuff. As soon as you prove that you’re not a danger on the full moon, you’ll be able to stay in your bedroom. But you just have to do this for us.”

Jesse glared at Angela, “Fine, but I ain’t happy about this.”

“You’re not happy with anything we do,” Angela grumbled under her breath in German. 

\---

Gabriel woke up, completely naked in a large room. He knew the room, had picked it out himself for the first full moon shift. Its walls were solid steel, nearly a foot thick. Its door could withstand direct blasts from Bastion units. Overall, it was what should be a werewolf proof room.

The objects in the room on the other hand were nearly guaranteed to be destroyed. There was a cheap bed, several piles of pillows and blankets, and not much else. The massive room was nearly devoid of anything. On the walls and ceiling were security cameras made to monitor him during the shift. He knew some of them would read his vitals, others were just regular cameras.

Gabriel tried to stand up, but he was restrained. They were restraints built to shift in size as he shifted, a final safety measure that he personally asked to be put in place. 

At least his head wasn’t pounding. The room was damn near silent save for the faint buzzing of technology. The only smell was that of fabric softener and steel, a blessing compared to the infirmary. 

Gabriel ran a hand along his goatee and the scruff growing on his chin, it was all caked in blood from the nosebleed that was still dripping. When he pulled his hand away, it was crimson and tacky with drying blood.

He grit his teeth and stared around the room. He was good at waiting out boredom, but the addition of not knowing when the shift would start added a layer of anxiety to him that made him twitchy. His mind flickered to Jesse and how he was handling the full moon.

Gabriel tried to close his eyes and get some rest, or anything, but his anxiety wouldn’t let him. So he just sat there, utterly naked while he waited for the shift to start.

About ten minutes after he had sat there, his limbs started twitching again. Small trembles that he couldn’t stop started turning into convulsions. His entire body was shaking and trembling, muscles haywire. Gabriel’s breathing was ragged with fear as the convulsions became more intense, as his arms started pulling at the restraints enough that he was afraid that he was going to break his wrists or dislocate his shoulders.

After twenty minutes of convulsions, the pain started as the shift truly began. It was pain unlike anything Gabriel had ever known, would have ever experienced otherwise. 

It started with his hands and feet and it felt like all of his bones were breaking, getting pulverized and reformed. A sobbing whimper left his lips as the pain travelled up his arms and legs. His body convulsing made the pain even worse, twitching muscles pulled at broken and stretching bones.

The pain grew to a crescendo as the shift reached his face. His whimpers turned into full blown screams of pain as all of the bones in his face broke, as his skin stretched painfully. The cuffs dug into his arms and legs, it felt like he had been lit on fire.

He didn’t know when, his body was barely processing anything beyond the burning pain, but the cuffs fell off. They had a failsafe that if he was getting too big, they’d fall off. He immediately tried to move, but fell to the ground. His limbs were still too twisted and broken to hold his weight. 

He vomited blood at some point, pain too much for his body to handle. His face was fully shifted but furless, the rest of his body was still shifting.

At some point, Gabriel completely stopped processing pain at all. He stopped processing everything as he completely blacked out. His last coherent thought was how it never stopped hurting. How fucking painful everything was. 

\---

Jesse was painfully bored. After the assholes had locked him into the fancy cage, he laid down on the plush bed and turned on the tv. They had left some food out for him and he grabbed it, determined that if they were gonna fuck him over and force him into a cage he’d eat all their food.

Though, it really  _ was  _ a nice room. It was three times the size of his quarters, the bed was giant with nice sheets, and there were piles of blankets and pillows everywhere. A slight jolt of fear shot through him at the sight of the blankets and he went through all of his interactions with Angela in his head. There was no way he had told her, or even hinted at, his need to nest.

There was even a nice, soft rug that covered the cold steel of the floor. As if they were trying to pretend that it wasn’t a giant metal cage they forced him in.

But if they were going to pretend, Jesse could too. He flicked on the tv and flipped through channels, he had never really had a chance to watch tv growing up, so it was still a novelty to him.

Jesse was gnawing on a tough piece of jerky and watching some mindless cartoon when the screams started. His ears flicked slightly in annoyance at the noise, but he turned up the tv to try and drown it off. He didn’t need Gabriel’s annoying screams making his night bad. It was his first lunar shift outside of Deadlock, he was going to enjoy it as best he could.

But no matter how loud he turned up the tv, he couldn’t drown out Gabriel’s screams that devolved into growls and howls as he shifted. The howls were what got him, though. He could have ignored the screams, even the growls. But the howls?

They could draw him into Gabriel’s madness.

“You gotta get me out of here,” Jesse said slowly, sitting up and ears pressed flat against his head in fear. “I can hear him, his howlin’.”

“You shouldn’t be able to hear him,” a woman, probably Moira, buzzed in. “You’re separated by thick walls.”

“I can fuckin’ hear him,” Jesse snapped. “And unless you want  _ me _ losing control, you gotta get me out of here.”

“That’s unsa—“

“What’s unsafe is leavin’ me  _ right  _ next to a wolf going mad on his first shift,” Jesse couldn’t help the way his lips raised in a snarl. He could barely hold back an answering howl to Gabriel.

“We don’t know if we can trust you to not snap on the full moon.”

“I’ve been watching tv for the past three hours eating jerky. The thing that’s gonna make me snap is if you keep me next to  _ him _ ,” panic was bubbling in Jesse’s chest. He heard the way Gabriel was clawing at the walls. Hell, he could hear Gabriel’s very footfalls, the way the sharp claws of his paws clicked as the cams in contact with the floor.

“We don’t have anything set up for you elsewhere.”

“I’ll go sleep in the damned mountains if you just get me out of here,” Jesse was near desperate. “I just need to leave  _ now _ .”

There was silence for a minute before the door clicked and opened. Jesse never ran out a door faster than that. On the other side was Blaise and Lane.

“The fuck do you want,” Jesse snarled.

“We’re taking you away from here,” Lane scowled at him. He hated Lane, and his fingers twitched. It would have been so easy to reach out and slice his—

“Get me out of here now before I act on these thoughts,” Jesse’s breath was ragged. Gabriel was making his aggression peak, which meant that Gabriel’s aggression was too high. Being so close to Gabriel, especially since he had bit Gabriel, was bad for Jesse’s ability to keep himself in check.

The two Blackwatch assets took Jesse away from the safe rooms, back to the living quarters area of the base. They led him to his own bedroom and damn near shoved him inside.

Jesse immediately fell to his floor and curled up. Fear raced in his chest at how damn close he had come to losing control.

\---

When Gabriel woke up, he felt better than he had in days. His body didn’t ache, his head didn’t hurt, his stomach didn’t roll in nausea at the thought of food. Hell, he felt like he could eat Overwatch out of food. He felt fucking fantastic.

But his mood quickly plummeted as he looked around the room. It looked like a bomb, or twenty, had gone off in it.

The cheap bed was destroyed, fabric was everywhere, the wooden frame was shattered, any large chunks that remained were completely chewed apart from massive teeth. Blankets were utterly shredded.

But the worst part was the walls, giant gouges ran across them, almost four inches deep. Gabriel let out a shaky breath as he lined his hand up against the claw marks. He couldn’t even stretch his fingers wide enough to match them.

The door opened and Gabriel spun in panic to see Jack walking in, holding out an outfit that would be easy to throw on. “What happened, Jack?” Gabriel whispered.

Jack swallowed, throat bobbing, “You went… You went mad, on a rampage.”

“I need to see the footage.”

“You really don’t need to see that,” Jack said. “Trust me.”

“I need to see what I did,” Gabriel said firmly.

“Do you remember any of it?”

Gabriel shook his head slightly, “No, the last thing I remember is how it felt like all my bones had been pulverized. The pain wasn’t like anything I had ever known. I need to see the tapes.”

“Gabriel, no.”

“Let me see them,” Gabriel snarled and slammed his fist against the wall. Badly disguised fear was on Jack’s face and Gabriel followed his gaze to his hand. Thick black claws sprouted from the tips of his fingers where his nails should have been. Claws that hadn’t been there seconds earlier.

“This is fine,” Gabriel said, voice quivering. “Things will be fine, just let me see the tapes, Jack, and next month things will go back to normal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I ended up being out of town with a friend yesterday lol. Updates may be a couple days late these next two weeks -- tomorrow starts hell week and the week after that is finals & my graduation ceremony so I'll be a bit busy!  
> \---  
> Follow me online @smalls2233


	8. Chapter 7 -- 2055

Things did not return to normal. Not the month after that first change. Nor the one after that. Even four months after Gabriel’s first change, he was still completely feral at the full moon. Even outside of the full moon, he had insisted on being contained, quarantined. He said he didn’t know if he could trust himself. 

The demand had come just after Gabriel’s second shift when Gabriel nearly broke down Jack’s door at three in the morning, wide eyed and panicked.

“Jack,” Gabriel looked terrible as he held onto Jack’s door frame, like if he let go, he would fall over. “I can’t do this, I’m going to hurt somebody.”

Jack rubbed at his chin, against the scratchy scruff that appeared every night. He was exhausted, had fallen asleep maybe an hour before Gabriel had come hammering at his door. “What happened?” He asked groggily, trying to stifle a yawn.

“I shifted in my sleep,” Gabriel said, the wood of the door was splintering under the pressure of his grip.

“Gabe, come inside and sit down,” Jack couldn’t hold back his yawn then. “Give me a moment to make coffee.”

“I’m too dangerous,” Gabriel shook his head. “I can’t.”

“Gabe—“

“I destroyed my room,” Gabriel said softly. “I need to be put in the safe room before I can hurt somebody.”

“You’re not going to shift now, just come inside and sit down while I try and get in contact with Dr. Ziegler or Dr. O’Deorain,” Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just try and calm down.”

“I  _ am _ calm.”

“You’re destroying my door frame,” Jack said and Gabriel immediacy ripped his hand off of the frame. There was a Gabriel’s hand shaped dent left in the wood.

“Sorry,” Gabriel said and scratched at the scarred bite mark on his neck.

“It’s fine,” Jack replied. “Just come inside and sit down,” he ran a hand down his face. “I really need some coffee if I’m gonna have to handle this.”

Jack watched as Gabriel’s jaw worked and worry coiled in his belly. “I’m glad you came to me,” he said, hoping that he wasn’t pushing Gabriel away again.

“I didn’t know who else to come to,” Gabriel sighed as he slunk inside the small apartment Jack had on base. Jack had a larger place, but he preferred the close quarters of the single bedroom apartment. “Ana’s away, I can’t trouble any of the Blackwatch team with this, and,” Jack watched as Gabriel scratched at the scar until blood welled. “You’re the only one who knows what this is like at all.”

Jack’s lips were tight and he nodded slowly, it took everything in his willpower not to rub at the scar on his forearm. “Yeah, I do, he said softly. 

“I don’t know what to do, Jack,” Gabriel fell backwards onto Jack’s couch and stared at him. “One of these days, I’m gonna snap and hurt somebody.”

“You’ll get control back,” Jack said, he put a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder and squeezed lightly. “If anybody can do this, it’s you.”

“Am I?” Gabriel asked. “Lately I’ve had less control over this, if that’s even possible,” he went to scratch again at his scar, but Jack grabbed his hand and stopped him. “I need you to quarantine me until I’m not a danger to everyone not named Jesse McCree.”

“You’ll get control of this soon.”

“What if I don’t?” Gabriel asked. “What if SEP did something to me, isn’t playing right with this fucking lycanthropy?” He threw his head back and scowled. “I might never be anything more than an out of control beast.”

“We were two of seven people to survive the SEP, if anybody can beat this, it’s you.”

“I need you to be prepared to kill me if I can’t,” Gabriel said. His tone betrayed no emotion, just giving an order. “I don’t want to live like this forever.”

Jack opened and closed his mouth, unable to find the words to respond. He didn’t know what to do, Gabriel had been the one for him throughout the enhancement program. When Jack was just beginning the shots, Gabriel had been on his last round. Had been the only survivor of his batch of subjects. So when Jack was going through the worst of his shots, Gabriel had been there for him, had been his rock. 

But looking at Gabriel, defeated and exhausted, that rock shattered and Jack didn’t know what to do. While he was glad that he and Gabriel had mostly patched up their friendship, he didn’t know if it was worth it. He’d take Gabriel hating him over Gabriel broken at three in the morning, asking Jack to kill him.

“I’ll make some calls and get the safe room set up for you,” Jack said softly. “You’ll survive this.”

Gabriel looked at him, amber eyes dull, “I don’t know if I will.”

\---

“Uncle Jack?” There was a hesitant knock on the open door to his office and Jack looked up.

“Fareeha!” Jack’s eyes brightened as he took in the gangly teen hanging at his door. He looked down at his watch and winced, “Sorry, I didn’t notice the time.” He had been supposed to pick her up from the landing port an hour ago. It was the beginning of her summer break and Ana was off at a press conference for the next three days, so it fell to Jack to take care of Fareeha.

Usually, Gabriel, Torbjörn, or Reinhardt were the ones to take care of Fareeha. Torb had kids around her age that she could play with, Reinhardt was just good with kids, and Gabriel loved Fareeha. But Torb and Rein were busy, and Gabriel was locked in his self imposed quarantine.

“It’s okay, Liv got me,” Fareeha said as she walked into Jack’s office and perched on his desk.

“Liv?” Jack cocked his head and ran through a list of Overwatch agents in his mind.

“Agent Blaise, from Blackwatch,” Fareeha clarified. “Really nice? Cool metal arm?”

“Ah, yes, I know her,” Jack said. “I need to finish up some work and then we can go out and get some dinner.”

“I’ll go say hi to Uncle Gabe then,” Fareeha hummed. “Is he okay? He hasn’t been responding to my texts that much.”

Jack froze and stared at Fareeha, “Your mom hasn’t told you?”

“Is he okay?” Fareeha asked, eyes wide. “Mum hasn’t told me anything.”

Jack bit back a swear, “Gabe is… sick right now.”

“Like flu sick or cancer sick?” Jack noticed the way Fareeha’s hands tightened in her lap.

Jack ran a hand down his face. Fareeha wasn’t a baby, but she was so damn  _ young _ . How the fuck could he tell her that her favorite uncle was locked up in a cell, that he had been a werewolf for four months and had only gotten  _ worse _ ?

“Uncle Jack?” Fareeha asked. “What happened?”

“He’s going to be okay,” Jack said slowly. “It’s just going to take some time for him to get better.”

“Can I visit him?”

“It’s— I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Hurt colored Fareeha’s face and dripped from her tone, “Why? What aren’t you telling me?”

“Gabe was hurt really badly in the Deadlock bust,” Jack picked his words carefully. “It didn’t seem that bad at first but…”

“Where is he?”

“Fareeha—“

“I’m not a baby,” Fareeha snapped. “What happened and why can’t I see him?”

“It’s dangerous,” Jack tried to not snap back, but wasn’t sure how successful he was in that. “He isn’t himself right now, we don’t know when he will be.”

“What happened?” Fareeha repeated.

Jack stared at his desk, “You know what werewolves are, right?” He asked quietly.

Fareeha looked at Jack, confusion replaced her expression of anger, “Yeah, they’re in a lot of the books my friends and I read. Why?”

Jack let out a long breath, “Gabriel was bitten by a werewolf during the Deadlock bust.”

“You know,” Fareeha ground out. “I get that I’m thirteen, but I can handle the truth. You don’t have to lie to me.”

“I’m not lying,” Jack pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “Things aren’t good right now, Fareeha. We’ve been trying everything.”

“Uncle Jack—“

“Fareeha,” Jack was exhausted. “Please,  _ please _ don’t try and argue this with me. I’ll be done with this work in about an hour. I’m sure Dr. Ziegler would be happy to see you, so you can go visit with her and I’ll pick you up to go out for dinner afterwards.”

An hour became three hours. Just when Jack had been about to set his pen down and head to the infirmary to pick Fareeha up, he got an urgent call. For the next two hours he was dealing with UN officials, apparently there had been some rise in anti-omnic hate crimes in Japan in areas controlled by the Shimada clan.

By the time Jack finally managed to pull himself free of his office, the sun was drifting low in the sky. His head was throbbing with a headache like it always did after dealing with bureaucratic red tape. They weren’t allowed in Japan, the Japanese Prime Minister greased his pockets with Shimada money. It made everything wholly unpleasant.

Jack’s steps carried him to a wing of the base that had become incredibly familiar to him over the past several months, the safe room Gabriel quarantined himself into. He needed to talk with Gabriel before taking Fareeha out to dinner.

“Gabe?” Jack pressed the comm button next to the door. “I have a mission for Blackwatch, is it safe for me to come in?”

There was silence for a few moments before Gabriel answered, “Yeah, it’s safe.”

Jack opened up the door and walked into the room. Deep gouges ran across the thick steel walls and floor, but at least the furniture was mostly intact. “There’s something going on with anti-omnic sentiment in Shimada territory.”

“Japanese PM still refusing to let Overwatch operate there?” Gabriel asked, he looked exhausted. His normally close cropped hair had grown out, neatly trimmed goatee had become a beard. Dark bags hung under his eyes.

“Yeah,” Jack sighed. “I was on the phone with Petra’s and some UN assholes for the past two hours. I was supposed to take Fareeha out for dinner hours ago.”

Gabriel’s eyes lit up minutely, “How is she?”

“She seems good, asked about you,” Jack replied, he barely held back a wince.

“What did you tell her?” Jack couldn’t read Gabriel’s face or tone. He had always been good at masking his feelings, frustratingly good.

“The truth,” Jack sighed as he handed Gabriel his tablet with the information needed on it. “She wasn’t taking ‘sick’ for an answer.”

Gabriel swallowed thickly, “Tell her I’m sorry.”

“Gabe,” Jack said softly. “This—“ he motioned vaguely around the room, “None of this is your fault. Don’t worry about it, you just need to focus on getting better.”

“Doesn’t make me feel any less like shit,” Gabriel sighed as he read through the documents. “Some days I feel like I’m finally getting control, and then the next it’s like a damn animal took over my body. I don’t even want to think about how much worse this would be if it weren’t for Moira.”

“You’ve got this,” Jack rested a hand gently on Gabriel’s shoulder and squeezed.

“I don’t know if I do,” Gabriel said. “When I was exercising today with McCree, he told me that—“ Gabriel’s fists clenched and shook. “Sometimes, wolves never get control.”

Jack’s jaw tightened, “I’m gonna strangle him.”

“He was probably just trying to get a rise out of me,” Gabriel said quietly. “But even still, what if he’s right?”

“He’s not right, he’s a punk kid trying to hurt you whatever way he can,” Jack ground out. “And I’m gonna have a word with him next time I see him.”

“Violence and harsh words aren’t the way to get through with him,” Gabriel warned. “Ana told me she was making headway with him, and Angela has somehow charmed him.”

“He can’t just dodge punishment because of this,” Jack said. “He’s pushed everybody these past several months.”

“Ja—“

“We’ve been too lenient with him. We wouldn’t have let any other agent behave like this,” Jack said firmly. “He needs to realize he can’t treat his commanding officers like this.”

“You’re going to get nowhere with him like this, Jack,” Gabriel snapped. “He doesn’t respond well to violence, ask Ana or Angela for tips on how to handle him.”

“I’m going to do what needs to be done,” Jack said. His blue eyes were dark as he stared down at Gabriel. “He needs to learn that he’s not above punishment.”

Gabriel shook his head slightly, but said nothing and went back to reading documents.

“I’ll forward you any more documents as they come up. I gotta go grab Fareeha now though, and take her out for dinner.”

“Thank you, Jack,” Gabriel said as he continued reading the documents.

“I wish I could do more to help,” Jack sighed as he placed his hand on the bio scanner of the door to unlock it. “But I’ll do my best to keep you busy.”

“I appreciate it,” Gabriel replied while Jack left the room.

Jack tried to push the image of how terrible Gabriel looked from his mind. He had never seen Gabriel look so unkempt, so… feral. He just needed to focus on what he could do to help.

“Fareeha?” Jack called as he walked into the infirmary. “Sorry that this is so late, I had to deal with a crisis.”

There was silence.

“Dr. Ziegler?” Jack called louder. “Is Fareeha here?”

“I’m here, Jack,” Angela waved. “Fareeha fell asleep on my couch about an hour and a half ago.”

“I’m gonna go wake her up so I can take her out for dinner,” Jack said. “Do you want us to pick you anything up while we’re out at dinner?”

“It’s fine,” Angela shook her head. “I had a salad and some soup for dinner.”

“Is that enough?” Jack asked as he passed her. “I could bring you back dessert if you’d like.”

“Not all of us are super soldiers,” Angela laughed. “I’m fine, trust me. Where are you taking Fareeha?”

“There’s a restaurant close by that I’ve heard good things about,” Jack said. “Figured she’d probably like something on the menu, plus it has some good desserts.”

“For her or are you breaking your unnecessary diet?” Angela asked, cocking a brow. “Because Jack, you really don’t need to diet.”

Jack laughed, “Maybe I don’t need to, but it makes me feel better. The desserts are for her, maybe I’ll sneak a bite.”

“I’ll ready a blood transfusion for you, because nothing’s gonna spare you from her wrath if you steal her food,” Angela laughed. Jack chuckled along with her, but stopped dead in his tracks as he saw Fareeha napping on the couch. 

“Dr. Ziegler,” Jack said slowly. “Do you mind explaining this to me?”

“Explaining wha— oh.”

Fareeha was sleeping on Angela’s couch, yes. But laying on top of her was a shifted Jesse, also sleeping. His massive form dwarfed Fareeha and her fingers were entangled in his thick fur, finally grown back after several months of awkward growth and healing.

“Jesse’s not a bad person, Jack,” Angela said softly. “He’s not going to hurt Fareeha.”

“McCree could ruin her life with a bite,” Jack said slowly. “He’s now allowed around base without supervision, yet you’re allowing him to sleep, shifted, next to a thirteen year old  _ child _ with no precautions?”

“He wouldn’t hurt her. I  _ know  _ Jesse,” Angela argued. “He needs some type of normal interactions, and Fareeha is going to be one of the best people for that. She’s a happy, sweet kid. If anybody needs that in their life, it’s Jesse.”

“And what if he snaps?” Jack snapped. “It’s just one bite, one graze of the teeth, and suddenly we have three werewolves. This is wholly irresponsible of you, Doctor.”

Angela glared at Jack, “I know what is and isn’t safe. Jesse is my  _ friend _ , Jack.”

“You’re the only one to hold that opinion.”

“Maybe because I’m the only one to treat him like a person rather than a beast,” Angela snapped. “He didn’t exactly have a healthy upbringing, Jack. So it’s no wonder that he chafes against authority.”

“There’s chafing against authority and then there’s what he does. I’m sympathetic to his struggles, but it excuses none of his behavior.”

“Maybe not, but you need to let him have a chance to change,” Angela said softly, looking in the room. “Give him time, Jack. He’s a good guy, there’s just a lot of pain in him.”

“I’ve given him time, Doctor,” Jack said flatly. “If It had been my choice, he’d be rotting in supermax right now.” He walked into the room and said sharply, “Agent McCree, wake up and move off of Fareeha.”

“Maybe Jesse would react better to you if you didn’t treat him like garbage,” Angela muttered under her breath. Jack ignored her, she was still a teenager. Of course she wouldn’t understand why he  _ couldn’t  _ let Jesse off the hook.

Even if those reasons were entirely selfish.

“Jesse,” Angela brushed past Jack with a glare he chose to ignore. She knelt down next to the sleeping forms of Jesse and Fareeha and gently shook his massive shoulder. “You probably need to get back to your own room.”

“You gotta leave, Angie?” Jesse asked groggily. His slow drawl was growling but not malicious, it was simply that his voice was altered by his shifted form. “Give me a few more minutes, don’t wanna wake the kid.”

Jack watched unhappily as Jesse tucked himself more securely on Fareeha’s lap and let out a happy chuff.

“No… You really need to get up right now,” Angela winced. “The Strike Commander is here.”

Immediately Jesse’s deep brown eyes snapped open and his expression shifted into something less happy. “That explains the smell of disgusting cologne. The fuck do you want?” Jesse growled. “Your boyfriend having more problems? I already exercised with him for the day so don’t fuckin’ think about draggin’ me back to him.”

_ Don’t rise to the bait, don’t rise to the bait _ , Jack repeated in his mind. “I need Fareeha,” he said sharply. “So get up and return to your quarters, Agent McCree.”

“Wanna make me?” Jesse scowled, at least that’s what Jack assumed that was what the twitch of his lips meant. “Because I’m thinkin’ you’d have a real hard time doin’ that.”

“Get up, McCree, this is an order from your commanding officer.”

“No.”

“Jesse just get up,” Angela murmured. “This isn’t a fight you’re gonna win.”

“I’m tired of him lookin’ at me like I’m trash,” Jesse growled. “Treatin’ me like I’m trash.”

“You know what I look at you like, McCree?” Jack asked. He didn’t wait for a response as he continued on, “I look at you like a punk kid with no respect for authority in a military organization who somehow has avoided punishment for over four months.

“Jack,” Angela hissed. “A word please?”

“Oh I’ll let him have a word,” Jesse growled as he sat up. “Do you want it with or without my muzzle?”

“Back down, McCree,” Jack bristled as he stared Jesse down. He ignored the fact that Jesse had over a foot on him, that he could probably crush a skull with one hand. “You need to learn respect.”

“Learn respect?” Jesse growled, an animalistic snarl bubbled. “What have you  _ ever _ done to earn my respect?”

“Get out of my infirmary if you’re going to fight,” Angela snapped. “I’m not about to deal with this here.”

“Sorry, Angie,” Jesse murmured. His hackles were still raised but he lowered his head to nudge at her shoulder. 

“Just shift back and stop this,” Angela said. She ran a hand down the side of Jesse’s massive arm. “You need to learn to pick your fights, Jesse.”

Jesse snarled softly but he seemed to listen to Angela. Jack was amazed as he watched Jesse slink off behind Angela’s desk and shift back.

“Can we have a word while he’s shifting back?” Angela hissed at Jack and grabbed him by the arm.

“I don’t have much of a choice, it seems,” Jack grumbled as Angela pulled him away.

When they were outside of her office, Angela turned to Jack scowling, “I don’t need you riling Jesse up with your macho man alpha nonsense, Jack.”

“He needs to learn respect, Doctor.”

“Not everybody learns respect by being screamed at,” Angela pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. “Jack, Jesse isn’t like anybody else you’ve ever worked with. Do you know what he’s told me about his childhood?”

“You’ve brought this up once already.”

“And I’ll bring it up again. His parents are dead, Jack. He saw his father die, he can only assume his mother is dead. His source of authority growing up locked him in a damn cage. So the last thing he needs is another bully in his life.”

“There’s a difference between being a bully and enforcing order,” Jack replied, lips drawn into a thin line. “Because your troubled, innocent wolf? He’s been pulling shit with Commander Reyes while we’re not there.”

“He just needs to heal.”

“He told Gabe that some wolves never get control of their shifts,” Jack slammed his fist on the wall, holoscreens yards away rattled with the force of the impact, and the aluminum of the wall dented. “I’m sorry, Doctor, but at some point he needs to face actual punishment.”

“I was just fuckin’ with him,” Jesse drawled, walking up to Jack and Angela with an unreadable expression on his face. “Every wolf in Deadlock gained control in half a year or so.”

Jack narrowed his eyes and scowled at Jesse. He opened his mouth to speak, but Angela spoke first.

“Unbelievable,” Angela spat. “Jesse, do you know how far you’ve stepped out of line with this?”

“I was just fuckin’ with him,” Jesse repeated and clenched his hands into fists. “Ain’t no harm in that.”

Jack couldn’t stop himself from flying at Jesse and pinning him against the wall, hand tight around his jaw. “Agent McCree,” he ground out, fury blazed in his gut. “Your invulnerability has run out.”

“I said no beatings,” Jesse gasped out.

“This isn’t a beating,” Jack scowled. He tossed Jesse to the side and he skidded across the floor. “In fact, I’ll make this a fight that’s in your favor,” he stripped his armor off of him, removed all of his sidearms until he was left in a long sleeve compression shirt, pants, and boots. “You’ll even have a knife and you can shift if you want,” Jack slid one of his knives across the floor to Jesse.

“Angie, tell him to stop this,” Jesse turned his head towards Angela.

“Jesse I—“

“She’s not going to be stopping this, McCree. There’s consequences to your actions, and you can’t wiggle your way free of them this time.”

Jesse scowled and grabbed the knife. “You’re not scruffin’ me.”

“I wasn’t planning on it, I’m not a monster.”

“Yet you’re plannin’ in attacking a teenager.”

Jack ignored Jesse’s words as he circled him. He wasn’t too concerned about the fact that he just handed a dangerous teenager a weapon. He really doubted that Jesse was going to have a chance to use it. 

Jesse flew at him, knife pointed straight ahead, and Jack sidestepped him easily. As Jesse stumbled past him, trying to stop, Jack turned around and grabbed his arm. He twisted Jesse’s wrist violently until Jesse dropped the knife.

He threw Jesse backwards, “Is that really all you’ve learned from Commander Reyes?” Jack narrowed his eyes, “Or have you just not been listening to him, your pride too important?”

“Fuck off, Blondie,” Jesse snarled and got up again.

“I’m your Strike Commander, address me with the respect the title asks for,” Jack growled as Jesse made a move for the knife again. He let him grab it.

“You don’t deserve my respect,” Jesse feinted at Jack. He nearly ended up stabbing him, but the move was straight out of Gabriel’s playbook. Something Jack knew well.

Jack kneed Jesse in the stomach and Jesse wheezed, all the breath knocked out of him. “Try harder, McCree,” he said darkly. “Because realize that while Commander Reyes might tolerate your bullshit, I have a lot less patience than him, and you’ve already used all of mine up.”

Jesse bared his teeth in a snarl and circled Jack slowly, another change in tactic. Jack watched him carefully, waited for him to make the first move.

The first move was to throw the knife straight at Jack. He barely dodged it, he was a centimeter away from having his left ear chopped off.

The second move was for Jesse to charge at Jack while Jack was busy dodging. He managed to catch Jack off guard and pin him to the wall. Smartly, he kept his mouth far away from Jack at all times. His clawed fingers dug into Jack's neck and held him against the wall. Every movement from Jack caused Jesse's grip to tighten. But while  Jesse was strong, no longer starved and scrawny, Jack was stronger. He ripped his way free of Jesse before he could do any lasting damage and punched him right in the eye.

Jesse howled in pain and fell to the floor. It took everything in Jack not to stomp on his wrist or to kick him in the ribs. “Don’t get up, McCree,” Jack growled.

“Fuck you,” Jesse spat and glared at Jack. Already, his left eye was beginning to swell.

“Doctor Ziegler, take care of him. I’m taking Fareeha out for dinner,” Jack said, the blood was pounding in his veins. He wasn’t sure if Jesse had learned his lesson, but Jack certainly felt better because at least Jesse would hopefully learn that there were consequences for his actions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Jack finally did what probably everybody's been wanting to do-- punch Jesse in the face for being such an asshole haha  
> \---  
> Follow me online @smalls2233


	9. Chapter 8 -- 2055

Gabriel stared at the documents in front of him. Getting Blackwatch into Shimada territory was going to be a nightmare, the family had eyes nearly everywhere. It wasn’t like Deadlock where they were so focused on the outside their inner defenses were weak. No, the Shimadas had eyes and ears everywhere near Hanamura.

But there was one potential weak link Gabriel knew he could exploit, Genji Shimada, the younger brother, despite only being sixteen, was already infamous for his partying and loose behavior. If there was a single way that he could get Blackwatch assets in Hanamura, it was through him.

“Commander Reyes, is it safe to come in?” A voice calls over the intercom, Kaede Ueda, a Blackwatch asset.

Gabriel rubbed at his eyes and grabbed the chain muzzle he had asked to be fashioned for him until he knew he could trust himself. It was almost as thin as fabric, like a cloth fashioned to go around his neck and mouth, but strong, strong enough to block pistol rounds. Most importantly, it would stop him from being able to bite if he snapped.

Gabriel slid it on, “It’s safe, come in, Agent Ueda. Is Agent Quantum with you?”

“I am, Commander,” a modular voice said. Quantum was Blackwatch’s only omnic asset.

The heavy doors made their slow process of unlocking and Gabriel tightened the muzzle around his head. All of the security protocols, from the chains around his ankles to the bots that stood in the hall outside of his cell were there on his request. He didn’t trust himself, didn’t trust the beast inside of him.

Not with the way it slowly woke up at the smell of human entering the room, how he  _ hungered _ .

“I read the brief you gave us, sir, and I have a few concerns,” Ueda said as she walked in the room. Quantum trailed slightly behind her and had to duck under the door. He was tall and thin, with two, almost deer-like legs.

“What are your concerns?” Gabriel asked.

Ueda and Quantum stopped in front of his desk, “Is it really necessary for me to go so far undercover with this that I’ll be downing the drugs?”

Gabriel closed his eyes, “If it makes you too uncomfortable, I can have somebody else assigned to this. However…”

“I would be the easiest person to slip into Hanamura, and the drugs are the easiest way to get him to lower his guard,” Ueda finished Gabriel’s thought for him with a sigh. “I’d rather not take the risk, but if you see no other way, I’ll do it.”

“Unfortunately, it’s our only real option,” Gabriel frowned. “And Quantum, do you think you’ll be able to situate yourself in with the omnics around Hanamura?”

“I should,” Quantum said slowly. “Do you have any details on what sort of things have been happening?”

Gabriel shook his head, “Everything we know I gave to you in the brief. I want you on the ground in the omnic communities seeing if you can get more details for me.”

“Understood,” Quantum said.

“Agents Blaise and Kumar will be ready to bring support if needed,” Gabriel reached for his tablet and pulled up a document he had been typing up. “I have blueprints of Shimada castle so if need be, you can do a raid. But I’d rather see if you can find a way in through Genji. And Quantum, see if you can find more details on who’s been behind the attacks.”

“Will do, Commander,” Quantum nodded. 

“I’ll send a more complete plan later this evening and I’ll be monitoring the comms while you’re on the ground, but for now, it would probably be best for you two to get out of here,” Gabriel said.

Ueda looked at Gabriel, her dark eyes were unreadable, “Is there anything we can do for you, Commander?” She asked.

Gabriel shook his head, “There’s nothing, just let Blaise and Kumar know they’re on call for the mission.”

“Of course, sir,” Ueda saluted. Gabriel expected her to make her leave, but she stayed, almost awkwardly.

“Do you need something more, Ueda?” Gabriel asked.

Ueda winced, “It’s about McCree.”

Gabriel was grateful that his grimace wasn’t visible beneath the muzzle, “What did he do this time?”

Ueda looked at Quantum who said, “He and the Strike Commander had an… altercation.”

“What the hell did Jack do?”

“McCree is fine,” Quantum dodged the question. “But he’s barricaded himself in his room.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Gabriel punched the bridge of his nose. “How long has he been in there?”

“He was supposed to show up for training three hours ago,” Quantum said. “When I tracked his location it showed he had gone straight from the med bay to his room last night. I tried to override the locking mechanism, but he had actually broken the door to keep it shut.”

“And when anybody approaches the door he snarls, I believe he’s shifted in there,” Ueda finished. 

“ _ Christ _ ,” Gabriel clenched his fist and felt thick claws begin to pierce his skin. “Have you tried getting Angela or Ana in there since he responds well to them?”

The antennae on Quantum’s head twitched, “He called Doctor Ziegler a traitor and Captain Amari is still out.”

“And Jack is the cause of this?”

“Yes, sir.”

“For the love of God,” Gabriel scowled. “Unshackle me so I can drag McCree out of his room.”

“Is that... safe?” Quantum asked slowly.

“As long as the muzzle remains on, mostly,” Gabriel said.

“What I meant to say is McCree hates you, I’m concerned about this worsening the situation.”

“Has anything else worked?”

“Well, no, but—“

“Then this is the last ditch effort to get this sorted,” Gabriel scowl deepened. “Unshackle me, that’s an order.”

Ueda chewed her bottom lip nervously, “Of course, Commander,” she said after a moment. 

“Quantum, while she does that, on the keypad on the wall, key in zero-five-five and bring the syringe it will deposit over to me.”

“What is it?” Quantum asked as he strode over to the wall.

“According to Moira it will cut out my sense of smell for two hours,” Gabriel said slowly. “It’s untested, but I trust her.”

“I’m not sure if it’s safe to use this untested,” Quantum responded. His antennae twitched nervously.

“Is any of this safe?” Gabriel snapped. “I turn into a goddamned four hundred pound wolf, so if this has a  _ chance _ of making me less of a danger, then I’ll take it.”

Quantum blanched, “Of course, sir.” He handed the syringe to Gabriel who stared at it briefly. He closed his eyes as he uncapped it, truth be told, he  _ was  _ worried about the potentials. But he survived the shots of the SEP, he could take an experimental drug.

Without giving himself more time to think about the potentials, Gabriel jammed the needle into the meat of his bicep and pressed down the plunger. His arm burned as the liquid was injected into his muscle. It took effect near immediately, his sense of smell diminished into nothing, but several of his other senses lessened as well.

Gabriel blinked, his eyesight was fuzzy and it felt like he had cotton balls in his ears. He wasn’t sure if he was at normal human levels, something he hadn’t been at since his early twenties, or if he was even lower than that. But it was disorienting, the way everything was so dull, so quiet.

The cuffs around his ankles popped off with a sudden  _ click _ and Gabriel stood up, slightly wobbly on his feet.

“Are you okay, Commander?” Quantum asked.

“I’m fine,” Gabriel gripped the desk, even his grasp felt weaker. He tightened his grip to what should have been his full strength, but the metal didn’t even begin to bend. 

If Ueda or Quantum noticed, they said nothing. They just shared a look as they let Gabriel brush past them. He stumbled over to the wall where he keyed in a code to open the door, his fingers shook the entire time.

“Get Dr. Ziegler on call,” Ueda murmured to Quantum, Gabriel could barely hear her, could barely parse her words, his hearing was so fuzzy.

The massive doors slowly opened and Gabriel started to wonder how badly the drugs were playing with his system. His hands felt clammy against the cold steel of the wall and sweat beaded on his forehead. But his mind was laser focused on getting to Jesse.

Gabriel’s head throbbed as he stumbled down the halls, half leaning against the wall as he moved. He wasn’t sure how many people he passed, his mind didn’t let him focus on anything other than getting Jesse out of his room. Any hand that touched him he shook off, any word he ignored. 

It felt like years before he managed to get to Jesse’s room. His sluggish movements made the process slow going. But eventually, he stood in front of the steel door to Jesse’s quarters.

“McCree, open the door,” Gabriel banged on the door as hard as he could. If he hadn’t been doped up on experimental drugs, he was sure the door would have buckled under the force. But as it was, there were only bangs as he slammed the back of his hand against it.

“Fuck off,” Jesse spat from behind the wall. Gabriel’s lips tightened.

“This is an order, McCree, open the door so we can talk.”

“I ain’t got nothin’ to talk to you about,” Jesse’s voice was the snarling growl of a shifted muzzle. It made Gabriel’s head pound worse.

“You can’t barricade yourself in there forever,” Gabriel said, he tried to get his fingers around the edge of the door and pull, but his strength had faded. He couldn’t budge it any more than he could move a mountain.

“I think I can.”

“For fu— McCree, just let me in there so we can talk about what happened with Jack.”

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Gabriel rubbed at his temples, his headache was getting worse and his skin was slick with sweat. “Stop acting like a child,” he snapped. “What problems are you solving by barricading yourself in your room?”

Jesse didn’t say anything and Gabriel tried prying his door open again, “You’re not fixing anything by sulking.”

“Neither are you,” Jesse snapped back at him.

“What do you—“ before Gabriel could finish his sentence, his consciousness faded and he crashed to the ground.

\---

Jesse was fuming, the fact that fucking  _ Reyes  _ decided to come pounding at his door, like everything wasn’t  _ his  _ fault made him furious. It was because Gabriel whined to Morrison that led to everything.

He paced around his room snarling softly while Gabriel spoke. He heard that Gabriel’s words were slurred, but he paid it no attention. He was probably drugged up on whatever shit he was using to keep his nature in check.

“You’re not fixing anything by sulking,” he heard Gabriel snap and Jesse’s head whipped to face the door. His hackles raised and his lips rose to reveal his teeth in a snarl.

“Neither are you,” he snapped.  _ He  _ was the one sulking? Reyes locked himself in a fucking cage because he was so afraid of the wolf in him. If anybody was sulking, it was Gabriel fucking Reyes.

“What do you—“ he heard Gabriel start, and then moments later he heard a thud. Jesse’s ears flicked in annoyance, Gabriel was probably trying something new to try and draw him out.

“Stop with the bullshit, Reyes,” Jesse growled. “I ain’t leavin’.”

Silence.

“I’m not playing games, I know you’re still out there.”

There was a moan of pain and Jesse snarled. As much as he hated Gabriel, the painful noise clawed at him. He couldn’t just  _ ignore _ it, so he unhappily wrapped his claws around the edge of the door he had slammed shut and pulled it open with some effort.

Laying on the ground, convulsing was Gabriel. Jesse swore and pounded on the comm to Angela on his wall. She answered near immediately, “What happened to Gabriel?”

“He passed out and is convulsing on the ground,” he didn’t feel the need to ask how she knew it was about Gabriel. Probably half the base knew Gabriel was walking around because of all the stupid safety measures he had set up.

Angela swore, “I’m already on my way, I’ll be there in a minute, if you can turn him on his side safely, do that.”

“I’m not his keeper,” Jesse snapped.

“I don’t give a shit!” Angela snapped back. “Right now you’re the only person there, and I need you to do as I say.”

“I’m still furious with you,” Jesse growled, but he knelt down and shifted the convulsing Gabriel onto his side.

“Get over yourself,” Angela said. “I don’t agree with what Jack did, but what you did, what you said to Gabriel? There’s no defending it.”

“It was a  _ joke _ , it’s what people in Deadlock did to new wolves.”

“Have you  _ maybe _ stopped to consider that what Deadlock did to new wolves wasn’t healthy? That maybe you should try and help Gabriel out instead of pushing him down?”

“I owe nothin’ to him.”

“Unbelievable, Jesse,” Angela spat. “I can’t believe how unbelievably selfish you are.”

“Selfish?” Jesse barked out. “How is this selfish?”

“You’re the one who turned him, you’re the reason he’s like this. Yet you act like you have no responsibility for it.”

“I ain’t getting into this. I called you to let you know he’s having a damned seizure outside my door, I’ve done my job.”

“Congrats, Jesse, you’ve done the bare minimum! Do you want a treat? A belly rub? All because you’re such a great, caring guy who thinks about people beyond himself?”

“Do you know what I want?” Jesse snapped. “I want people to stop lookin’ at me like I’m trash, like I’ve done something wrong.”

There was silence for a moment before Angela said, “It’s not right that people treat you poorly, Jesse. But you did do something wrong.”

“Bullshit.”

“You killed six Blackwatch assets, you turned Gabriel into a werewolf.”

“I did what I had to.”

“I’m not getting into this  _ again  _ with you,” Jesse could hear the annoyance dripping from Angela’s tone. “But I want you to think about why  _ maybe  _ people would have issues with your attitude and behavior.”

A low growl rumbled deep in Jesse’s chest. He punched at the wall and felt the metal crumpled beneath his huge, furred fist, “Just pick Reyes up and leave me alone.”

“Do you  _ want _ to push everyone away from you?”

“I’ve told you what I want,” Jesse was furious. He didn’t need  _ another  _ lecture about how wrong he was, how unfair he was to Gabriel. Because deep down? He knew he was unfair to Gabriel.

But deeper down, he just didn’t care, didn’t trust Overwatch or Blackwatch not to try and hurt him.

“You know he’d be better off without whatever bullshit you’re trying to do to his genes, right?” Jesse growled as he stared at the convulsing Gabriel.

Jesse heard Angela’s jaw snap closed. “What do you mean?” She asked.

“What I mean is, he’s convulsing on the ground in front of my fuckin’ quarters because of what I’m guessing is some new drug that the quack cooked up to do  _ something  _ to make him not go rabid at the scent of human.”

“He’d be worse off if not for the work of Dr. O’Deorain.”

“Are you sure about that?” Jesse snapped. “Werewolves are almost as ancient as humans, and we’ve gotten on just fine without gene therapy. What I’m seeing in Reyes is a werewolf who is  _ more  _ rabid than a fresh wolf on the full moon any time he shifts, months later.”

“The SEP—“

“I don’t know shit about the SEP, but unless it affected his personality originally, I doubt it has much effect on his transformation.”

There was dead air for a long moment, but it was broken when Jesse heard footsteps approaching. “Are you saying that Gabriel isblike this because of Dr. O’Deorain?” Angela asked as she walked up and knelt next to Gabriel. 

“Not intentionally,” Jesse scowled. “I’m sayin’ that when a  _ human  _ fucks with things she don’t understand, she does more harm than good.” He looked away from Angela and Gabriel, “And him refusing to accept that the wolf is him is just making things worse.”

Angela stared at him, “We can’t risk—“

“Do you want your commander to be like this forever?” Jesse snapped.

“No, but there’s other lives we have to worry about.”

“Hey Angie, guess what?” Jesse dug his claws into the metal wall, “No matter how many security protocols you have set up, no matter how many walls you lock him behind. If you have a feral wolf, it’s not just that somebody’s gonna get bit.” He stared darkly at Angela, “Somebody’s going to get bit, somebody’s gonna be killed, somebody’s gonna be eaten. Because when he’s feral, he has no control. There’s nothin’ in his mind beyond instinct, and the three greatest instincts that guide  _ everything _ ? Fightin’, fuckin’, and eatin’.”

“So what do you want me to do about that?” Angela snapped. “Do you know what I know about werewolves? I know what little you’ve shared with me.”

“I don’t know, force him to accept that he’s not human and that the wolf ain’t his enemy?” Jesse snapped back.

“Why don’t you help?” Despite being much, much smaller than him, Angela stood in front of Jesse with icy rage in her eyes. “Because do you know the way to get everybody to stop looking at you like you’re trash, like you’ve done something wrong?” She didn’t wait for Jesse to respond before she spun on her heels to face Gabriel and attempt to take his pulse and she continued, “It’s by stepping up and helping in the way that apparently only  _ you  _ as another werewolf can.”

Jesse stared at Angela with narrowed eyes, raised hackles, and a snarl, “Fine,” he growled. His teeth were bared and face contorted nastily in his anger. “I’ll help him out. But after that? I’m gone. I’m leavin’ Overwatch and none of y’all will be able to find me.”

Angela stared back at Jesse, “Fine.”

\---

Gabriel felt like he had been hit by a bus, a train, and a nuke in succession when consciousness finally returned to him. His head throbbed, his tongue was like sandpaper in his mouth, and all of his muscles were on fire.

“You’re goin’ off of the quack’s drug cocktails,” Jesse’s voice pounded in Gabriel’s ears.

Gabriel could barely crack his eyes open as he turned his head to face Jesse, sitting in a chair near his bedside. “What?” He croaked out. He had to be hallucinating, there was no way that goddamned Jesse McCree would have been waiting in the safe room for him to wake up.

But when Jesse pushed a glass of water towards him, he knew that he had to be real. “I’m in charge of you gainin’ control of yourself, and I’m not lettin’ you touch that damn gene therapy again.”

Gabriel gulped down the water, barely processing Jesse’s words, he was so focused on quenching the thirst that burned his mouth and throat. He had never been so thirsty in his life.

“You know why you’re like this?” Jesse continued on. “It’s because—“

“You bit me,” Gabriel croaked out.

Jesse scowled at him, “It’s because you’re refusing to accept that you’re not human.”

Gabriel’s lips tightened, “I know I’m not human anymore.”

“And you’re terrified of it,” Jesse said. “You don’t shift unless it’s the full moon, you lock yourself up, dose yourself with drugs that a  _ human _ made.”

“I’m uncontrollable, a danger.”

Jesse rolled his eyes, “You’re uncontrollable because you’re afraid of yourself.”

“Moira’s drugs are stopping me from being a danger.”

“Are they?” Jesse asked. “I think she’s a human with too much ambition playing with something that she doesn’t understand. But you know what I understand? Bein’ a werewolf, so you’re officially not taking any of her bullshit again.”

Gabriel’s brows knitted together, “You don’t have the authority to do that, McCree.”

“It’s been months with the drugs,” Angela’s voice played over the intercom in the room. “I think that it might be time to try a new approach.”

“I ain’t any happier about this than you are,” Jesse’s arms were tightly folded on his chest and a scowl stretched across his face.

“I just need to try a new combination of drugs—“

“Do you know what happened with the last new combo?” Jesse snapped. “You stumbled like a drunk around base, had no strength, passed out, and had a seizure in front of my door. You’ve been asleep for six hours.”

Gabriel’s jaw clenched and he felt his teeth and nails shifting, “This is too dangerous.”

“I’m no child,” Jesse snapped. “I can handle fresh wolves.”

Gabriel met Jesse’s glare, “I’m not endangering you with me shifted.”

“Tough luck, Reyes, because tomorrow morning you’re shifting and you ain’t shifting back until I say so.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in the chapter! The last couple of weeks have been crazy, graduation, christmas, finishing up my secret snowflake fic, etc. I'll be back to a regular updating schedule -- hopefully twice weekly now actually. I'm thinking maybe Monday/Thursday for updates now!! I might throw in another chapter within the next couple of days though because the next chapter is..... rut.........
> 
> Anyway I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas (or if you don't celebrate, Jimmy Buffet's birthday) and all have a great New Years if I don't throw in an update before Monday
> 
> \---
> 
> Follow me online @smalls2233


	10. Chapter 9 -- 2055

“Shift, Reyes,” Jesse scowled. They were locked in one of the large steel observation rooms. The only thing to break up the metal walls were cameras and thick foam padding on the floor. They had been there for nearly half an hour, and Jesse was getting impatient.

“I’m _telling_ you, McCree, I don’t know how,” Gabriel replied and annoyance flickered in Jesse’s gut.

“It’s _natural—_ “

“To you, somebody who was born a werewolf,” Gabriel’s face was neutral, his tone even more. “I don’t know how to shift willingly, I only do it at the full moon or if it just happens.”

Jesse scowled, “Watch me shift and figure it out.” It’s not like he _knew_ how to explain it anyway. He had been shifting from damn near the day he was born. If it wasn’t a shift forced by the full moon or by fear, it felt like stretching out into warm sunlight. Like shedding the bindings and limitations of the human form to embrace nature.

Jesse didn’t have to strip from his clothes to will on the shift. Because despite his arguments that he had fur, Overwatch had spent money to create clothing and body armor that would grow with him to match.

Of course, he had a feeling that was less about modesty and more because Overwatch thought they could make a weapon out of him.

Jesse felt Gabriel’s eyes on him as he leaned against the wall and shut his eyes. He forced himself to ignore it as he slowed his breathing and focused in on himself.

The shift started at his bare feet, it didn’t hurt like it did when forced. Instead of feeling every bone breaking and changing, instead it felt warm, almost comforting. A soft sigh left his lips and his back arched as the shift continued throughout his body. He was sprouting fur while his bones were still creaking.

When he was done, he shook out and stretched. It was still hard to believe that the thick fur that covered him was _his_ , that he wasn’t able to count his ribs anymore, that his skin didn’t itch and burn every time he shifted. He wasn’t starving, he wasn’t hurting, it was… it was more than he could have ever asked for.

Though, it could have been even better if Gabriel wasn’t there, staring at Jesse. “Shift,” Jesse said in his growling, shifted voice. It wasn’t that speaking when shifted was _hard_ , but human words were more difficult to say than the growls, barks, whimpers, and howls that were more natural to his canine muzzle. He would have rather communicated through those, but he wasn’t sure if Gabriel would even understand.

Gabriel was unmoving as he stared at Jesse, “This isn’t safe, McCree. Already, with you shifted, I feel—“

“Reyes,” Jesse cut him off. “I just want to get this over with. Shift.”

Gabriel bared his teeth slightly and a low growl left his throat. Maybe he would understand the more bestial communications after all. “I’m feeling the loss of control and ferality already, McCree. This isn’t safe.”

“ _Shift_ ,” the word was followed by a growl deep in Jesse’s chest. “You don’t have the quack’s medicine anymore, Reyes. You’re doin’ what I say, and right now what I’m sayin’ you need to stop being so afraid of yourself and just _shift_.” Jesse eyed Gabriel, the way the shift seemed to already be partially taking him. Lengthened canines and thick claws were present on his body along with patches of fur. “Are you controlling that shift or is it just happening?”

“Do you _think_ I’m controlling it?” Gabriel snapped, his voice a snarling growl.

“Fine, lesson one is getting back from a shift like this,” Jesse didn’t want to deal with Gabriel, mad from a forced shift. He was confident that he could handle him if he was _just_ feral, but not if the shift was forced on him. “Control your breathin’ and focus on your human form.”

“It’s _really_ hard to focus,” more of Gabriel’s body was twitching and Jesse knew he had to make a snap decision.

Jesse shook his head and half ran next to Gabriel. “You’re about to figure out why I hate this,” Jesse muttered under his breath before he wrapped one massive arm around Gabriel’s waist and pinched at where he knew the scent glands around Gabriel’s neck would be located.

The result was instantaneous. In a second, Gabriel was limp in Jesse’s arms. “Focus on shifting back,” Jesse snapped. If Gabriel went mad there was a strong potential that he’d pull Jesse in with him. “This close to rut, you’re gonna be more snappish and volatile, so you need to learn how to get back from this point.” The last thing he wanted was Gabriel shifting uncontrollably during pre-rut.

Gabriel’s chest heaved but his body was loose, “Let go of me,” he snarled.

“I ain’t lettin’ go of you until you shift back _willingly_ ,” Jesse’s grip tightened. “Think of your claws retreating into your skin, your teeth into your jaw. They’re always there, always a part of you, but put them back.”

“Explain more,” Gabriel’s voice was calmer and less of a snarl.

“I don’t know,” Jesse frowned. He hadn’t ever explained it before, but what he was saying felt… natural, “Part of you is a wolf, always waitin’ to be unleashed. It ain’t your enemy, Reyes.” He stared at the far side of the room as he spoke, “Humans hate wolves, don’t understand them, understand us. But, you ain’t human, stop fighting yourself and just— fuck, I don’t know how to explain it.”

Gabriel’s chest stopped heaving and cautiously, Jesse let go of his neck. “You did good, McCree,” Gabriel said approvingly. When he turned around, his features were fully human. “I haven’t been able to bring myself back from that point before.”

Jesse averted his eyes from Gabriel’s intense, golden gaze, “Whatever. I’m done with this for the day.”

Gabriel grabbed his arm, Jesse was still surprised at the strength of his grip, despite the months he had known Gabriel. “What’s rut?” Gabriel asked.

Jesse froze, “What do you mean ‘What’s rut?’”

“Rut— is it something lunar related?” Gabriel’s eyes were narrowed in confusion.

“Rut is… it’s,” he hadn’t realized Gabriel hadn’t known what rut was, hadn’t been prepared to explain that, “It’s a mating season.” Jesse was certain that his face was beet red and Gabriel’s was completely unreadable. “Twice a year, fall and spring, all wolves are out of commission.”

“And you hadn’t thought to mention this before.”

“I thought you knew about it,” Jesse snapped, he felt himself closing off again in embarrassment. “Werewolves can only— ugh,” he didn’t want to explain that to Gabriel. “Werewolves get fucky and possessive during rut, don’t like humans and don’t like other male wolves.”

“Oh,” Gabriel said slowly. He took a deep breath, “And how long is it until rut?”

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Jesse was mortified.

“McCree, this affects both of us. I need you to just tell me what’s happening,” Gabriel’s voice was too calm for the topic.

“Two weeks,” the words came out slow and forced through gritted teeth. “Rut’s in two weeks, the sex part lasts four days, pre rut another three.”

“Is it like the full moon?” Gabriel asked.

“How are you so calm about this?” Jesse snapped. He didn’t like how calm Gabriel looked. “I told you that you’re gonna be an uncontrollable rage and sex machine for a week.”

“Because I lived through that before,” Gabriel said and Jesse faltered. “I lived through the soldier enhancement program, McCree. I went through nearly dying, through sudden surges in strength, through unexpected side effects. And you know what one of them was?” He didn’t give the flabbergasted Jesse time to respond. “We got _really_ fucking horny, McCree. I don’t understand the wolf shit, I hate the rage shit, but I can handle being horny and being monitored during this.”

“You don’t understand,” Jesse snapped. “This isn’t normal, ‘Oh no, I’ve got a boner,’ this is _painful_ , every instinct of your body is itchin’ for you to find a mate. And you’ll be locked up, but it ain’t like the full moon where you’ll be feral. I don’t even know if you’ll fucking shift.”

“Calm down, McCree,” Gabriel said slowly. His voice was calm but Jesse noticed the way his shoulders were tensed. He wasn’t nearly as calm as he wanted Jesse to think. “It can’t be any worse than what I’ve been dealing with for the past several months.”

Jesse’s jaw clenched. “You don’t understand.”

“Then _help_ me understand,” Gabriel snapped. “Do you think I want to be your enemy, McCree? This isn’t Deadlock, I’m not whoever hurt you. Do you know who I am? I’m a man trying to figure out who the fuck he is after he was bit by a werewolf. I’m a man trying to keep the world from falling apart.”

“I don’t care what you want to be,” Jesse snapped back, his ears were tilted back and his tail was stiff. “I don’t _want_ to be here, I don’t _want_ to deal with you.”

Gabriel walked close up to Jesse, far into his personal space, close enough that Jesse could smell the subtle, spicy scent of his cologne that played over his natural scent. Jesse took a step back automatically as Gabriel said, his voice quiet, “I need you to understand something, Jesse. I’m pretty sure nobody in Overwatch or Blackwatch would be sorry to see you go, except maybe Angela and Ana. I’ve been handling countless complaints about your behavior, but I’ve let it slide.”

“You ain’t doin’ much of a good job convincing me that this is the place for me,” Jesse scowled.

“So you know what I see in you?” Gabriel ignored him. “I see the potential for a good man buried in you. And I also see two options for you in life, you can either run away with your tail between your legs, abandon Overwatch, hole up in the desert somewhere, alone. Or,” Gabriel stared Jesse directly in the eyes and it took everything from Jesse not to break the eye contact and look away. He couldn’t help the way his tail dipped between his legs. “You can put Deadlock behind you and work with me. Help me out, start making friends beyond Angela, realize that you aren’t as alone as you try to force yourself to be.”

“I don’t—“ Jesse started and looked away from Gabriel. He shook his head, “It’s not as simple as puttin’ Deadlock behind me.”

Jesse felt Gabriel’s gaze still on him, burning him like a brand. He felt naked underneath his eyes, “My parents died in the Crisis,” Gabriel said and Jesse watched out of the corner of his eye as Gabriel sat down. “Sit with me, Jesse,” Jesse slowly sunk to his haunches and watched Gabriel cautiously.

“It was near the end, for such a major city, LA was barely affected by the Crisis, but there was an attack nobody expected,” Gabriel stared off into space as he spoke. “I was angry, beyond furious when it happened. The omnics had taken so much from the world, and then they took my parents from me. But before I could get my revenge, the Crisis ended. It was over. We won.” A bitter laugh left Gabriel’s lips, “Suddenly I was expected to hold hands and play nice with the omnics. Act like they didn’t kill my parents.”

“I don’t get how this is relevant.”

Gabriel ran a hand through his beard, “It was hard to put it behind me. I still wake up at night and think about what I could have done to prevent the attack, save those lives. But I can’t change the past.” He looked at Jesse and Jesse swallowed hard, “I’m not a therapist, McCree, I can’t tell you how to cope with whatever shit happened in Deadlock. I’m just a soldier, but you have the potential for something good here in Blackwatch.” Gabriel laughed bitterly, “I’m not gonna lie and tell you that what we do is clean or easy. We torture people, we assassinate people, we do what Overwatch can’t. But we do it for the good of the world.”

“Look, I—“ Jesse started.

“Think about it, McCree,” Gabriel interrupted him. “I’m not telling you that all the bad shit that happened to you is ever gonna fade away. But you have an opportunity in front of you here if you just work with me.”

“I need time to think,” Jesse said slowly. As he spoke, his canine form melted away until he was left human.

“I’m not telling you to make your choice immediately,” Gabriel said, and then chuckled softly. “I know you’ve been planning on leaving as soon as you can slip away unnoticed.”

“How—“

“Jesse, I lead the top black ops organization in the world. Even incapacitated like this I can figure out the thought process of an angry teenager,” Gabriel laughed, but it wasn't the cruel sound Jesse was used to hearing from Deadlock. “Take your time and think about it, but make an effort to be more pleasant,” he raised an eyebrow at Jesse. “I’m tired of handling complaints about your behavior.”

Jesse wasn’t sure how what was meant to be him teaching Gabriel to control his shifts had become a lecture on his behavior but, “Fine, whatever,” he grumbled. “But they all look at me like I’m garbage.”

“I’ll talk with them, but you need to make an effort, Jesse,” Gabriel’s voice was gentle, but firm as he spoke. Jesse wasn’t chafing against his orders as much as he had honestly expected to. Maybe it was because Gabriel wasn’t barking them at him, just simply… telling him his expectations.

“Whatever,” Jesse stood up and went to grab his boots.

“There’s a good kid in you,” Gabriel said. “At least that’s what Ana and Angela have told me,” he also stood up and walked over to the door. As he keyed in the code on the keypad to let them out he said, “I can’t force you, but you should let more people see that.”

“I ain’t been a kid in a long time,” Jesse said under his breath. “Not since pa—“ he cut himself off with a shake of his head. “I’ll try, Reyes. But I ain’t happy about any of this.”

“I’m not happy about being a...“ Gabriel’s breath hitched as he paused. Jesse watched him beneath his bangs which had grown out again, “About being a werewolf. But you gotta roll with the punches.”

“You weren’t rollin’ with them for ages,” Jesse said.

“And now I’m trying to,” Gabriel said. “You and me, we’ll both work on that, deal?”

Jesse gritted his teeth, “Fine.”

“I still think this is too dangerous,” Gabriel admitted and leaned against the doorframe. “But tomorrow morning, I expect you in here so we can keep working together on getting control for me. I’ll listen to you and cut off the drugs from Moira, but I need you to work with me.”

That was easy, “I can do that,” Jesse said softly.

“Good man,” Gabriel nodded approvingly. “Go back to your quarters and eat lunch, Jesse.”

“I don’t eat lunch there,” Jesse mumbled. “I eat with Angie.”

“Then go eat with her,” Gabriel said. “But take the rest of the day off of duty.”

Jesse couldn’t help the way his ears pricked st that, if his tail was out, it would have been wagging. Thank fucking Christ it wasn’t out. “Y-yeah, okay,” he said.

“Explain rut more to Angela more as well,” Gabriel said. “Humans don’t know about this shit, McCree. You need to let the medical staff know about all this werewolf shit so we can plan around it.”

Jesse frowned, “I don’t want to explain this to her it’s…”

“I know it’s embarrassing and personal, but it’s something that the med team needs to know about,” Gabriel scratched at his beard as he spoke. “This weird medical shit? This is what I know, what I’m comfortable with. I’d explain it if I knew anything about it. But I don’t. So you need to tell the medical team everything.”

“Fine,” Jesse brushed past Gabriel out the door. “But I don’t want to.”

Jesse didn’t see Gabriel raise his eyebrows, but he could hear the raised eyebrows in Gabriel’s tone of voice, “You don’t want to do a lot of things, but you need to do this.”

“Yeah, well, whatever,” Jesse grumbled as he walked down the hall. “Doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck.”

“Part of growing up is doing the shit that sucks,” Gabriel called after him. “So do that, McCree, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

\---

By the time pre-rut struck, Gabriel still hadn’t made any progress on shifting at well. He could feel Jesse’s frustrations at it, he had been growing frustrated at how slow the progress was as well. At least he was able to will away the small, unwilling shifts before they became full shifts. Small victories.

The full moon had come and gone with him being as uncontrollable as ever. But Jesse had stayed outside his door the entire time and talked to him, not that he remembered it. The only reason he knew about it was because Jack had asked. He didn’t think it was wise to address it with Jesse.

Jesse was… well, difficult was putting it lightly. But Gabriel had been making little steps forward with the kid each day came together to work on getting Gabriel control over his shifts. Gabriel was figuring out ways to word things to prevent Jesse from shutting down, and Jesse was starting to push Gabriel’s buttons less.

Baby steps were still steps, and Gabriel felt like he was starting to gain control of his life again.

Knowing what was happening helped too. Slowly, _slowly_ , Gabriel and Angela were able to pry bits of knowledge from Jesse about what would happen, werewolf physiology. Fareeha was honestly a godsend too. As much as Jack hated her spending time with Jesse, she calmed him down.

Angela had told him of the times she would walk past her office while checking on patients to see them lying together, napping, or Fareeha stroking the fur on Jesse’s neck while she told him of things happening at school or of the celebrities she liked.

“Jack doesn’t like it,” Angela said on the day before Jesse said pre-rut was about to begin. She was doing blood work and diagnostics on both him and Jesse in order to see if she could see what was causing rut so hopefully she would be able to create rut suppressants.

“Jack doesn’t like any of this,” Gabriel sighed as Angela stuck him with a needle to draw blood. He still had the muzzle on, but Jesse had helped him to control the hunger and rage at the smell of human. It was harder, so close to rut, and Jesse had asked Angela to lock him into one of the safe rooms to protect the humans on base from him. “He’s just worried about Fareeha.”

“If it were you, he’d have cause to worry,” Angela slowly started filling up vials of blood. “But Jesse isn’t a danger, he’s shifted most of the time he’s with me and he’s honestly like a giant puppy.”

Gabriel had a hard time picturing that, Jesse was still snappish and on edge around him. But, “He just cares about Fareeha a lot. I’m sure he worries about you, too.”

Angela frowned, “There’s a point where worrying goes too far.”

“I can have a word with him,” Gabriel said slowly.

“No, I will,” Angela shook her head. “The problem is he doesn’t listen.”

“He really doesn’t,” Gabriel agreed. Angela quickly pulled the needle from his vein and pressed gauze to it to staunch the flow of blood. He opened his mouth for Angela to take his temperature.

Angela sighed as she stared at the digital display of the thermometer. She clearly wanted to say something.

“Spit it out, kid,” Gabriel said as she pulled the thermometer from his mouth.

“One, I’m not a kid, I’ve been through med school,” Angela said. “And two, it’s… ugh,” she ran a hand through her hair. “I need… I need semen samples from you.”

Gabriel blinked. Once. Twice. On his third, “You need this… why?”

“Jesse told me that the only time female wolves can conceive is during rut, or I guess heat? I don’t know but I want to see if male werewolves are sterile or not before and after rut,” Angela’s face was pink as she spoke.

Gabriel ran a hand down his face, “What else do you need me to do, piss in a cup?”

“I know you’re joking, but unfortunately, yes. Also a cheek swab and I want you to swallow some pills that contain nanites.”

“The purpose of the nanites is…?” Gabriel asked. He knew Angela’s research put a large focus on nanites, but he wasn’t sure of the correlation.

“They’re to help monitor you, and _hopefully_ I’ll be able to use them to assist with the sudden rage and shifts,” Angela said. “You can say no, Jesse said no. But I believe I can help.”

Gabriel’s mind flashed to Moira’s fury at being told she wasn’t allowed to work on him any longer, “I… don’t think that would be a good idea, Angela.” He ran a hand through his beard, “Moira might not react well if I let you suddenly start messing around with me with experimental medicine.”

“Right…” Angela said slowly. “But I still need to collect the fluids from you.”

“You’ll get them,” Gabriel said. “We just can’t do medicine.”

\---

Jesse stared at the metal ceiling above him and counted cameras. There were enough that it made him uncomfortable. The fact that there were humans monitoring him, watching him, as he was entering rut was making his skin crawl. But he told Angela he would allow it and he was _trying_ to work together with Gabriel, as uncomfortable as it was.

Jesse pulled the comforter off of the large bed in the room and dragged it to the giant pile of blankets, pillows, and shirts he was forming into a nest. Nesting wasn’t usual for male wolves, he had barely been able to make anything resembling a nest back in Deadlock. Being able to _finally_ create what he had been itching to ever since he was fifteen, going through his first rut, set his mind more at ease in its pre-rut haze.

The smell of human on the blankets and clothes wasn’t bothering him as much as he had expected it to. Back in Deadlock, the scents of human members drifting past the door to his cell had driven him near mad, snarling and foaming at the mouth as the sneered at him through the bars on the open window.

But it was Angela’s scent on the pile of fabrics, along with Jesse’s as he covered the fabric in his fur, but there was one more scent that he couldn’t place. Either way, it was a combination that helped to soothe him as he curled up into the nest and closed his eyes. He was warm and he was safe, and he was comfortable during a rut for the first time in his life.

\---

Pre-rut for Gabriel wasn’t anything like he had experienced before. He was filled with an energy that he had almost no way of getting out. He tried everything he could think of, from pushups and sit-ups to suicides and burpees. But even when he was dripping with sweat, muscles burning and panting, there was still a burning core of energy he couldn’t get rid of.

And _fuck_ Jesse hadn’t been lying about the urge to find a mate. Every cell in his body was screaming at him to find a mate, to fuck, to take, to fight. The steel walled room felt like a cage to keep him from taking what he needed.

He needed a mate.

He needed to fuck them, make new werewolves.

“Let me out,” Gabriel’s voice was hoarse as he keyed in the code to open the heavy doors to get him out of the safe room. The keypad flashed red. He tried again. It flashed red again.

“You’re unable to leave until rut is over, Commander,” Athena’s voice said through the speakers. “What do you need?”

“I need out,” Gabriel’s voice was a low growl.

“I can’t do that, you are currently a risk to the—“

“Let me _out_ ,” Gabriel’s mind flashed through the humans on base. None would do, he needed to find another wolf for him to fuck.

His mind went to Jesse, “Let me in to Agent McCree’s room.”

“That is unwise.”

“I’m not going to fuck him,” Gabriel didn’t even notice as the shift overtook him. “He’d— he’d know where I could find a mate.” Maybe? Gabriel didn’t know, his mind was a hazy mess of instincts. Whatever small, rational part of his brain that remained was screaming at him. But it was ignored by the bestial part of his brain that just thought fight, fuck, feed.

“You are not leaving the room, Commander Reyes.”

Gabriel growled and bared his teeth, fully shifted. It was the first time he was shifted and conscious of his actions, but he wasn’t in any state of mind to celebrate the small victory. “Let me to McCree, Athena, that’s an order.”

“Calm down before you need to be sedated,” Athena said.

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed, “I’m no threat, I just need to find a mate. You don’t understand how _painful_ this is, Athena.”

“Commander, calm down.”

“Let me _out_ ,” Gabriel roared and pounded at the steel wall, denting the metal. Within seconds, he felt pin prick wounds all over his body. When he looked down, darts covered him and before he could even process what they meant, his legs buckled under him as he passed out.

\---

Jesse’s mind was a whirlwind of names and faces as he stroked himself off. His belly fur was matted with leaking precum and precious loads of cum as he stroked himself off. Nearly everyone he had interacted with was coming to his rut-hazed mind.

The two most common ones were Angela and Jack. Angela’s friendship and soft blonde hair that smelled like flowers entangled his thoughts and he thumbed at the slit of his cock as he thought about the way her shirt hitched up when she reached for things.

He wasn’t sure why Jack was coming to mind, he couldn’t _stand_ the jackass. But the fury and anger in Jack, the way he, a fucking _human_ , had been able to take Jesse on in a fight. Jesse came imagining Jack holding him down and fucking him.

More faces flashed in Jesse’s mind throughout the days as he stroked himself, as he finger fucked himself, as he shifted uncontrollably between forms. One moment he was human, the next a wolf, and then in some mixture of the forms.

Through the steel walls, he could hear Gabriel’s pants and moans. For the first two or three days — he couldn’t tell, rut fucked with his mind, time passed strangely during it — he managed to ignore them. He was entirely focused on soothing the fire within him. His own moans were loud as he bucked shamelessly in his hand or squeezed at his knot, pretending that it was buried deep in somebody.

But near the end, his mind’s focus shifted entirely to the noises Gabriel was making. The grunts, moans, and howls played over and over again in Jesse’s mind and Gabriel’s scent felt overpowering.

The small part of Jesse’s brain not overtaken by rut was confused by the scent, how could he smell Gabriel when Gabriel was separated from him by thick steel walls?

Jesse’s question was answered when his snout was buried deep in his nest as he stroked himself off. That third, mysterious scent bathed over his tongue and nose as he slowly stroked from base to tip. It was Gabriel, only faint traces of cologne played over his natural scent. Jesse inhaled deeply, unable to stop himself, ruled by instincts.

Jesse couldn’t help but imagine Gabriel treating him like the other male wolves in Deadlock treated their mates. He didn’t know why, but his cock grew harder at the thought. A soft moan of _Gabriel_ left his lips as he slipped a finger into the slick ring of muscles on his ass, already loose from his earlier finger fucking.

If his mind was any more rational, if he had even stopped to think about what he was doing, he would have been disgusted. Hell, even half crazed on rut he wasn’t sure why the thought of Gabriel, the noises Gabriel were making were driving him so mad. But he couldn’t stop his fingers, couldn’t stop as his mind pretended that it was Gabriel stretching him open.

He scissored two fingers in and out of himself as his cock drooled onto his nest. It wasn’t enough, wasn’t nearly enough, he needed more. He howled in frustration as he shoved another two fingers inside of himself, mindless to the pain. Despite the stretch, he couldn’t go deep enough, couldn’t quell the fire that was burning inside of him. It was too much but still not enough, never enough.

He rocked against his fingers and his tongue was lolling out the side of his mouth as he tried to provide the depth his body needed. The moans of Gabriel felt like they were coming from directly next to him, only blocked off by the steel wall between them, and it fueled Jesse on more.

“Gabriel,” Jesse moaned, voice embarrassingly loud. He couldn’t control the sound, couldn’t control the need. It had to be because Gabriel was the only wolf near him that he had so fully taken over his mind. That was it, his body was just so desperate for another wolf that it focused on Gabriel fucking Reyes over anyone else.

“Jesse,” he heard Gabriel’s answering moan from across the steel wall. Maybe he hallucinated it? He didn’t know, but it only spurred him on further and he came with a choked sob before his body went completely boneless and he collapsed in the nest he built.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit late! Monday was my birthday so I ended up celebrating all day, and this chapter got a bit long for me to finish in one day haha.  
> \---  
> Follow me online @smalls2233 (or on my new nsfw twitter, [smallsNSFW](https://twitter.com/smallsnsfw) where I've been doing threads and shit like that)


	11. Chapter 10 -- 2055

“Angie,” Jesse was laying, shifted, in Angela’s office and munching on pretzel sticks. “I need to you to sleep with me.”

Angela’s typing paused suddenly, “Excuse me?”

“I want you to fuck me.”

“No, no, I understand what you said, as much as I wish I didn’t,” Angela frowned at Jesse.

“Okay, so what’s the problem then?” Jesse asked before shoving a couple more sticks in his mouth and crunching on them loudly.

Angela took a long sip of her coffee before replying, “I can think of a ton of problems.”

“I’m hot, you’re not bad either, we’re teenagers so let’s fuck,” Jesse said.

Angela ignored him, “Problem number one, I’m your doctor, you’re my patient.”

“Who cares?”

“ _Problem number two_ , you’re getting pretzel crumbs literally all over my office and your fur, which is _not_ attractive.”

“Don’t see how that’s related to me fuckin’ you.”

“Problem number three, do you know how lycanthropy is transmitted?”

Jesse cocked his head, “Bodily fluids gettin’ in your veins, don’t know how that’s related either…”

Angela stared at Jesse and sighed, “Do you know what’s a bodily fluid? Semen. Do you know how it would get in my veins? You not being careful.”

“But condoms—”

“I’m not having sex with you!” She set her coffee cup down. “Tell me why you’re suddenly propositioning me, Jesse.”

“Because I’m a horny teenager ruled by hormones?”

“You’re almost nineteen and have been done with puberty for years.”

“Rut just ended,” Jesse rolled onto his side and ate a couple more pretzels.

“Two weeks ago. You told me it doesn’t have any lingering effects.”

“Then why is my mind still focused on goddamned Reyes?” Jesse snapped and then shut his mouth. He hadn’t meant to tell Angela that much.

“Oh my god,” Angela put a hand over her mouth. “You have a crush on Gabriel.”

“I don’t have a crush on Reyes, rut fucked something up in my mind,” if Jesse could blush, he’d have been beet red. “I need to fuck you to reset it.”

“Okay one, that’s not how that works at all. Two, it’s cute that you have a crush on him.”

“I don’t have a crush, I can barely stand him,” Jesse’s tail flicked in annoyance and he shoved more pretzels in his mouth. “Angie, help me out here,” he pleaded in a whining voice.

“Oh no, I’m not getting between this,” Angela shook her head.

“I’m gonna fuckin’—“

“What’s going on?” Jesse and Angela flicked their heads to the doorway at the same time to see Fareeha hanging in the doorway, cellphone in hand.

“Jesse has a crush on—“ Angela was shut up as Jesse flung herself at her.

“Your mom,” Jesse wrapped his hand around what meant to be Angela’s mouth, but ended up being her entire face, and blurted out the first non-Gabriel name he could think of.

“Okay, that’s gross, mum’s ancient, also, she’s my mum,” Fareeha’s brows knitted together as she stared at the mess of Angela and Jesse. “If you hook up with her would that make you my uncle?”

Jesse ripped his hand from Angela’s face after he felt her wet tongue on it, “He has a crush on Gabriel, not your mum…” Angela paused, “Maybe Ana too, but definitely Gabriel.”

“Why the fu—“ Jesse looked at Fareeha and corrected himself, “Why the _heck_ did you lick my goddamned hand?”

“Why’d you cover my face with your hand?” Angela snapped.

“He has a crush on Uncle Gabe?”

“ _No,_ ” Jesse snapped at the same time as Angela said, “Yup.”

Jesse glared at Angela, “This is weird wolf shit, I don’t have a crush on fucking Gabriel goddamn stupid ugly dumb asshole _Reyes_ of all people.”

“How’d this come up?” Fareeha brushed past Jesse, running fingers through his thick winter coat that was growing in, and stole some of his pretzel sticks.

Jesse and Angela looked at each other, “Jesse asked...“ Angela started before trailing off and looking at Jesse in a panic.

“I asked Angie to… uh, set me up on a date with one of her friends not in Overwatch?” Jesse said slowly.

“Does she even _have_ friends outside of Overwatch?” Fareeha asked as she slowly crunched on a pretzel stick.

“I have friends!” Angela protested.

“Do you?” Jesss clutched his bag of pretzels close to his chest to keep them safe from Fareeha’s wandering hands.

Angela flicked Jesse on his nose, drawing a yelp of pain out of him, “I have colleagues from medical school and childhood friends that I still keep in contact with.”

Jesse was happy to get the the topic away from his crush on Gabriel. Which he didn’t have, Angela just didn’t understand. Something about Gabriel being the only other wolf around him during rut fucked with his mind, he just needed to get laid or something to get his mind off of Gabriel. “Colleagues ain’t friends, Angie.”

“What do you know about friends?” Angela snapped, and then visibly recoiled, “I’m sorry— that was too far.”

“My only friends are a thirteen year old girl and you,” Jesse shook his massive head and sat back down on the couch. “I’m pretty sure I don’t know much about friends.”

Fareeha crawled onto Jesse’s lap and he had to quickly pull the bag of pretzels away before she could sneak more, “What’s that supposed to mean?” She asked.

Jesse let out a pleased chuff as Fareeha entangled her fingers in the soft fur of his arm, “It means you’re a kid and Angie’s… well she’s Angie.”

“You’re not much of a pleasure either, Jesse McCree,” Angela huffed.

“Incorrect, I’m a goddamned gift to this planet,” Jesse shook his fur out, sending pretzel crumbs flying everywhere.

Angela stared at him, “You’re going to be vacuuming my office and sanitizing the entire infirmary if you keep that up, Jesse.”

Fareeha stole another pretzel stick from Jesse, “Stop being dumb you two, how do we get Jesse and Uncle Gabe together?”

Jesse glared down at her, “We’re not hookin’ me and Reyes up because I don’t have a crush on him.”

“He’s handsome, at least that’s what mum says, what’s the problem?”

“The _problem_ is that I don’t have any feelings for Reyes beyond maybe friendship,” Jesse snapped. “And friendship is too intimate a word for how I feel about him. I tolerate him, he tolerates me. That’s it.”

Angela and Fareeha shared a look, “So then why can’t you stop thinking about him?” Angela asked.

“It’s wolf shit,” Jesse snapped. “My brain’s all fu— hecked on rut garbage so that it can only focus on the other wolf in Overwatch. So what would be _helpful_ _Angela_ , is you setting me up with your _friend_.”

“I’m not sleeping with you, Jesse.”

“You want to sleep with Angela?” Fareeha’s eyes lit up.

“What the fuck, Angie? I was very purposefully not droppin’ the s-word in front of this literal child.”

“I’m a teenager, same as you,” Fareeha protested. “I know about sex, but why do you want to sleep with Angela?”

Jesse snickered, “Good question, I don’t know why I want to sleep with her of all people.” He yelped when Angela pulled at his ear.

“I’m not sleeping with you, Jesse, and you’re not going to find somebody else to go sleep with either,” Angela snapped at Jesse. “I can promise you that just trying to sleep with somebody is going to solve none of your problems.”

“But—“

“No buts! I’m saying this both as your best friend and as a medical professional, trying to sleep around is just going to make things worse on you,” Angela frowned as she looked at Jesse. “Maybe you don’t have feelings for Gabriel and it is just weird wolf stuff, but the solution to this isn’t sleeping with me!”

“Wouldn’t hurt to try,” Jesse grumbled.

“Do you have romantic feelings for me?”

“Ew, of course not,” Jesse grimaced.

“That ew was uncalled for,” Fareeha tugged at Jesse’s cheek fur. “But Jesse, come on, we’re just trying to help.”

“I don’t need help,” Jesse pulled Fareeha’s hands off of his face. “Don’t pull at my face fur, that hurts.”

“Sorry,” Fareeha instead buried her hands in his neck fur and scratched. “But come _on_ , let us set you and Uncle Gabe up together.”

“I’d take you up on that, if I had feelings for him,” Jesse’s ears laid flat against his head. “I’d rather kiss Strike Commander Jackass than him.”

“Uncle Jack’s a nice guy,” Fareeha rolled over in Jesse’s lap to get a better angle on his neck fluff. “He just cares too much and is kinda lame sometimes.”

“He’s an asshole.”

“Did you know he’s always on dumb diets?” Fareeha ignored him. “I’m pretty sure he lives on kale and chicken.”

“I need to talk with him about that,” Angela groaned. “He doesn’t _need_ to be on those diets, he needs a higher calorie count than that.”

“He needs to pull the stick out of his ass and stop acting like I’m gonna bite everybody,” Jesse grumbled and ate a few more pretzels.

“ _You_ need to stop with the pretzel sticks,” Angela pulled the bag away from him. “I’m not joking when I said you’re vacuuming my office.”

“There’s cleanin’ bots for that.”

“You have to take care of your own messes, Jesse,” Angela shook her head. “Plus, you’re about one pretzel stick away from drooling all over my office and you know what I don’t want to deal with? Werewolf slobber all over everything I own.”

Jesse let his tongue hang out, “You sure about that?”

“I swear to god Jesse—“

Jesse gently pulled Fareeha off of his lap and leaned forward, quickly making sure Angela didn’t have any cuts on her face before he licked a long stripe up her cheek.

“ _Jesse_ ,” Angela shrieked and pushed him away from her. “That’s disgusting!”

“But imagine how good it would feel—“ Jesse slammed his mouth shut with a click of teeth as he remembered Fareeha was sitting just a few feet away.

“Go on,” Fareeha raised her eyebrows.

“Nope,” Jesse said. “Not until you’re older, kiddo.”

Fareeha rolled her eyes, “I know what sex is.”

Jesse wrapped a hand around Fareeha’s head and shook lightly, “I don’t care, you’re thirteen, we’re not talkin’ about this.”

“If you’re leaving, Jesse, I need you to send in a requisition form for me.”

“Do it yourself,” Jesse grumbled.

“Jesse.”

“ _Fine_ , what do you need?” Jesse asked while Angela typed out a list for him. He tapped a paw impatiently against the floor.

“Everything on here,” Angela forwarded the list to his comm. “And Jesse?”

“What, Angela?” Jesse asked.

“Please realize that I’m just teasing about the Gabriel stuff, but don’t let whatever’s going on with you and him make you push him away.”

Jesse’s ears twitched, “Whatever,” he grumbled.

\---

Months passed, fall faded to winter, which in turn changed to spring, and then summer. Before he even realized it, an entire year had passed from when he had first joined Overwatch. During the passing months, Jesse had managed to shake the thoughts of Gabriel from his mind. Spring rut, his mind had shifted to Gabriel again, but he forced Gabriel from his mind when it was over with.

They had become… if not friends, they had become friendly with each other. Jesse was still skittish and quick to close himself off, but Gabriel was patient and worked with him. Gabriel wasn’t like who Jesse had known in Deadlock, he wasn’t looking for the first opportunity to kick Jesse when he was down.

But frustration still boiled in his gut at how Gabriel was not even a single step closer at controlling himself during the full moon. He had helped Gabriel to stop shifting uncontrollably, and Gabriel had been able to return to almost normal. But each full moon, he was still a snarling, feral beast.

During the full moon, Jesse had taken to sitting on the opposite side of Gabriel’s door and telling him stories. The feral howls and growls of Gabriel had tugged at him, nearly pulled him into the same feral madness that overtook Gabriel in that time, but he stood strong.

On the full moon in late July, Jesse was sat in his usual spot, speaking softly. “I’ve never told you about how I got in Deadlock, have I?” The only noises on the other side of the door were Gabriel’s growls, but they always calmed down when Jesse started speaking. He wasn’t sure if it was because of him or not, but he liked to think that he calmed Gabriel down.

“You ain’t gonna remember this,” Jesse closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cool metal. “So I guess it doesn’t hurt to tell you about my parents and shit. Back when I was a kid, my pa told me about how he and my mom got together. They weren’t supposed to. He was a bitten wolf, she was a born wolf of damn near highest pedigree in Deadlock— she was the alpha’s mate...”

\--- _ **2037**_ \---

“You keep makin’ eyes at the girlies, McCree, and you’re gonna be knocked flat on your ass,” Joel Gibbs slapped Nate McCree on his back.

“Fuck off, Gibbs,” Nate shook his head. “I ain’t makin’ eyes at no one.”

“Then get your ass movin’ and help move these boxes, we’ve got some vamps from Los Muertos coming in a few hours for a shipment of guns.”

Nate rolled his eyes, “Don’t see why the fucking bloodsuckers are buyin’ guns from us.”

“Don’t know, don’t care,” Gibbs shook his head.

“Thought the whole point of us gettin’ bit was so we’d be in the loop about shit like this,” Nate frowned as he lifted up a couple boxes.

“We ain’t never gonna be on the same level as the born wolves,” Gibbs started walking and Nate followed along slowly. “The sooner you come to realize that and keep your damn head low, the better shit will be for you.”

Nate scowled, “So I’m supposed to be happy about it?”

“Not happy,” Gibbs shook his head. “You just gotta accept that at least you’re still higher on the pecking order than the humans and be satisfied with that.”

“Just sayin’ that it’s bullshit.”

“And I’m just sayin’ that nobody gives a damn. So get your ass moving faster, McCree, so we can get these guns ready.”

Nate snorted and gave one last glance to where some of the girls were talking and carrying crates of guns. He didn’t give a shit about whatever pack rules and wolf bullshit Deadlock had going on. He joined because he was a good shot and needed a quick buck at fifteen, he worked his way up by becoming an even better shot so that at twenty one, he was asked by Blake Itou, Deadlock’s alpha, if he wanted to be bitten.

Nate had immediately agreed. Barely of age to drink but asked to become something more than human, more powerful than a human.

One of the girls looked up and made direct eye contact with Nate and he looked away near immediately. “Who’s she?” He hissed to Gibbs.

“Who’s who?” Gibbs asked.

“The hot chick staring at me?”

Gibbs flashed a look behind him, “Absolutely nobody you want to get involved with, McCree. I told you, dumbass, keep your head low and away from the girlies of the pack.”

“It’s stupid,” Nate grumbled. “Don’t get why I can’t get together with them.”

“We don’t make the rules, we just gotta follow them,” Gibbs shook his head. “If you have enough energy to try and flirt and complain, then you’re not carrying enough boxes.”

\---

Over the next few weeks and months, Nate kept coming across the girl he had seen that one day moving guns. It wasn’t uncommon for him to not see people for months, Deadlock was massive and he was frequently crossing the border into Mexico to work with Los Muertos. He didn’t like the vamps, but they had specifically asked to work with him.

“McCree,” Itou called one day. “Get in my office in fifteen minutes.”

“Yessir, let me just finish gettin’ these processed,” Nate replied, he had been taking care of a new shipment of weapons with a gaggle of human grunts. There were rumors about omnics starting to cause problems in Europe and that was making people antsy. And antsy people bought more weapons. Deadlock had been ramping up its shipments and it still wasn’t enough to keep up with the demand.

“You have fifteen minutes, McCree. I have a new assignment for you.”

“I’ll be there in a tick, sir,” Nate said. He turned to face the humans he was working with, “Collins, Ramos, get these guns in the system and work on sorting them into shipping crates to send to Canada.”

“Right,” Ramos nodded. She flicked her eyes to the others in the group, “Get on it.”

When he was satisfied that the humans were doing what they were supposed to, Nate hurried to Itou’s office.

Itou’s family had been in the United States for generations, had been the founders of Deadlock. They had been run out of Japan by the Shimadas in one of their anti-supernatural raids. Most of the world knew the Shimadas as a yakuza family, an ancient ninja clan. But they were worse, they were one of the main Hunter families.

Hundreds of supernaturals had fled Japan, Korea, and China to the United States in order to escape from the reaches of the Shimadas. But Itou’s had become the most established with Deadlock.

“What’d you need, boss?” Nate knocked on Itou’s door frame before walking through the open door.

Itou turned to face him. Blake Itou was a massive man, built like a tank, even unshifted. It was beyond intimidating, “Los Muertos asked for two of ours to spend an extended amount of time with them. Asked specifically for you and Santos.”

“Santos?” Nate asked, confused. The Santos family was another family in Deadlock that had been there from damn near the beginning. But, “Which one? Old man Santos is sick, near his deathbed and I thought his sons were out in Europe tryin’ to broker deals there.”

“Carmen Santos, oldest daughter,” Itou said. “My mate.”

 _Oh_ , “And you’re allowin’ this?”

“She’s a valuable member of Deadlock and would kill me if she didn’t let her do this,” Itou said. “But here’s somethin’ that you need to realize, McCree. If you lay a single finger on her, if I as much as _smell_ you on her when you’re back in this gorge. You’re dead, your entire goddamned _family_ is dead.”

Nate swallowed, “Wouldn’t even dream of it, sir.”

Itou narrowed his dark eyes at Nate, “Good mutt. Get your shit packed, you’re leavin’ in the morning. The bloodsuckers provided a car.”

\---

Come morning, Nate was piling the back of an old humvee up with a couple bags of clothes and several boxes of tech and weapons. “Ain’t what I said about keepin’ you head low,” Gibbs said, passing along another crate of guns.

“You think I was about to say no to Blake Itou?” Nate laughed. “Fuck that.”

“So you agreed to do shit with Los Muertos with his _mate_?”

“Look, it’ll be fine,” Nate shook his head.

“I swear to god McCree, you best not do anything stupid.”

“I ain’t ever done anything dumb in my life,” Nate laughed. “Except maybe join a weapons trafficking gang and agree to become a werewolf.”

Gibbs laughed, “How long are you gonna be in Mexico?”

Nate shrugged after he loaded the last of the crates, “Don’t know, could be a few days, few weeks, or few months.”

Gibbs whistled low, “Best hope that y’all get back before rut.”

“Fuck, Gibbs, if she goes into heat I’ll slit my throat then and there.”

“Be less painful than what Itou would do to you if you touched her,” Gibbs grinned.

Nate chuckled, “He’d probably chop my balls off. I doubt anything’ll happen, though. I think the vamps are getting antsy about the bots, probably want some werewolf muscle or something.”

Gibbs leaned against the trunk of the humvee and whistled low, “I’ve barely been a wolf longer than you, but I know that wolves and vamps ain’t supposed to be workin’ together like this. Some shit’s goin’ on here.”

“Could be that we’re two illegal gangs?” Nate raised an eyebrow.

“Naw, ain’t possibly that,” Gibbs shook his head. “I heard Santos has a bad attitude though, McCree. Be careful around her, even ignorin’ Itou.”

“Oh?” Nate pulled out two cigarettes and offered one to Gibbs.

“Yeah,” Gibbs lit his up and took a drag. “Remember the Kennedy twins?”

“How could I not?” Nate winced and took a long drag of his cigarette. They had been moles for a rival gang, for months they had been leaking information and compromising gun runs. They had been brutalized for what they did, barely recognizable at the end.

“Santos and her crew did that,” Gibbs shook his head. “If Los Muertos asked for her specifically… well, there’s probably gonna be some foul shit goin’ on down there.”

Nate whistled low, “Sounds like I should’ve kept my head down.”

“You’ll be fine,” Gibbs shrugged. “You’ve got your freaky gun tricks, and if anything you could probably hide in the desert.”

“They ain’t freaky gun tricks,” Nate snorted and flicked off the ash from his cigarette before he took another drag. “I just take my time and focus. Somethin’ that you could probably work on.”

“Wow, rude, asshole,” Gibbs laughed. “I’ll have you know that—“

“You about ready to get going, McCree?” A woman’s voice interrupted Gibbs who stood stock straight and froze.

Nate slowly turned around and forced a lazy grin on his face. “Carmen Santos?” He asked.

Carmen raised an eyebrow and Nate swore internally. She was the hot chick who had caught him staring. “Would anybody else be here making sure you’re ready to go?”

“Suppose not,” Nate stuck the cigarette between his teeth and extended his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Nate McCree.”

Carmen’s eyebrow didn’t lower an inch as she shook his hand. Nate took a moment to appreciate the way her biceps moved. _Fuck_ , she was painfully his type. “You know what we’ll be doin’ in Mexico?” She asked.

“Not a single clue, swe— Santos,” he caught himself before he could call her _sweetheart_.

“Mm, makes two of us,” she hummed.

“Good luck, McCree, Santos,” Gibbs said and then mouthed ‘Don’t fuck her,’ at Nate.

“See ya soon, Gibbs,” Nate waved as Gibbs scurried off.

“You got any more of those cigarettes, pup?” Carmen asked as she slid around the car to the driver’s side door.

“Just a couple,” Nate said as he pulled out one of his last cigarettes and handed it to her.

Carmen took it quickly and lit it up, “Best say your goodbyes to Deadlock Gorge for now, McCree. Who knows when we’ll be back.”

Nate eyed the dusty canyon, “At least Dorado looks good.”

Carmen snorted, “It’s got colors beyond light dirt and dark dirt at the very least.”

Nate’s cigarette had burnt down to the filter so he spat it out and crushed it under a foot, “Too bad it also has vamps.”

Carmen laughed and Nate felt his heart swell in his chest. He couldn’t be falling for the goddamned mate of Blake fucking Itou within ten damn minutes of meeting her. “I like you, McCree, you’re pretty cute for a bitten wolf.”

“I—“ Nate started and shut himself up by lighting another cigarette and shoving it in his mouth.

He was falling for the goddamned mate of Blake fucking Itou within ten damn minutes of meeting her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meet Jesse's [hot parents](https://twitter.com/Smalls2233/status/949040743418617858)... You'll get to see their whirlwind romance and puppy jesse next chapter (and maybe a familiar face or two in Los Muertos) :3cc
> 
> Jesse: "I don't have a crush on gabriel reyes"  
> Several chapters pass  
> Jesse: "I might have a crush on gabriel reyes"  
> \---  
> Follow me online @smalls2233 or on my new [nsfw twitter](https://twitter.com/smallsNSFW)


	12. Chapter 11 - 2056

As Jesse spoke, Gabriel’s howls and growls quieted and he heard soft, even breaths on the opposite side of the door from him. “This is how we get you to calm down?” Jesse asked softly with a chuckle. Everything was so much easier when Gabriel couldn’t respond to him.

“I never knew my mom,” Jesse said. “But, shit, Reyes, what my pa told me about her from the time they spent with Los Muertos, she was somethin’ else.” He closed his eyes and heard Gabriel whine quietly from the other side of the door. “And Los Muertos… well, Deadlock was organized, but the Muertos vamps thrived on chaos…”

\---2037---

Nate had been in Dorado for two weeks and he still wasn’t any closer to knowing what Los Muertos wanted him there for than he was in Deadlock Gorge. Carmen had been in and out, but they were kept in separate buildings — no doubt a request by Itou — so he didn’t see much of her at all.

He sighed as he sat at the edge of town and stared at the bay. He wasn’t able to shift with the amount of humans nearby and it just made him antsy. Everything was so different than the gorge.

“You got any more of those cigarettes, McCree?” Nate damn near jumped out of his skin at the sudden question and he dug a now claw tipped hand into the bricks of the house he was sat atop. Carmen laughed at his reaction and sat down next to him, “These fuckin’ vamps are gonna be the death of me.”

“At least you’re _doin’_ something,” Nate grumbled and fished around one of the pockets in his leather jacket to grab his pack of cigarettes. He pulled two out of the pack and handed one to Carmen, “Don’t know why the vamps requested me to be here if they’re only gonna be doin’ work with you.”

“Patience, young McCree,” Carmen winked as she lit her cigarette. “All will be revealed in time.”

“Just sayin’ that it’s bullshit,” Nate grumbled before taking a drag of his cigarette. “I ain’t been doin’ nothin’ but sit around and look pretty for the past two weeks.”

Carmen laughed, “All I’ve been doing is sitting through meetings with the vamps, and _boy_ do vampires suck.”

Nate snorted, “Literally.”

“Congrats, McCree, you got the joke,” Carmen laughed. “We’re here because the bots are starting to act up,” she said after a moment. “My brothers are all doing shit in Europe and whatever but Los Muertos wanted a Santos, so they got me. You’re here because the vamps are familiar with you and you’re a damn good shot.”

Nate stared into the bay as he responded, “So they don’t give a shit about the whole born versus bitten wolf shit then?”

“All vamps are bitten, wouldn’t be surprised if they _prefer_ bitten wolves,” Carmen laughed. She paused as she flicked the ash off her cigarette on the edge of the roof, “We’ll be here for a couple of months, maybe a year.”

Nate whistled low, “Bots actin’ up that badly?”

“Yeah,” Carmen ran a hand through her hair. “Sangre is worried that this is the start of somethin’ big.”

“Never trusted the bots anyway,” Nate shook his head. “It’s why I like the gorge, ain’t no tin cans there.”

Carmen hummed around her cigarette, “Hope you’re as good as your rep because I think the vamps are gonna have us start taking care of the bots around here.”

“Just us?”

“Nah,” Carmen shook her head. “They’ve got a newer vamp for us to work with, Olivia or something. Calls herself Sombra.”

Nate snorted, “This is the shit I don’t get about bloodsuckers. Always gotta prove that they’re the darkest shit. Just punch shit like we do.”

“Punch shit? Is that what you think werewolves do?” Carmen laughed. “Pretty sure we’re known for biting shit.”

“Yeah, well so are the vamps,” Nate shrugged.

“Mm, you’ve got a point,” Carmen grinned and stood up. She walked along the edge of the roof on tiptoes, “I’m glad to get out of the gorge, honestly.”

“That’s… a surprise,” Nate said slowly.

“I love Deadlock, it’s my entire life, don’t get me wrong,” Carmen dropped the butt of her cigarette on the roof and squashed it with a foot. “But Blake’s a cunt and even as his mate there’s no way I’m ever gonna get the chance to lead it.”

“You want to lead Deadlock?”

“The Santos family helped found it, same as the Itou’s,” Carmen frowned and sat down again and Nate watched as she talked. “Ain’t fair that the Itou’s are the ones who’re the alphas. Papa was gettin’ pissed, it’s the reason Blake took me as his mate,” she paused and swallowed. “I mean, even beyond that, I’m... sure he would have taken me as his, but this was with the blessing of papa.”

Carmen sighed and stood up again. Nate noticed that her nails were shifted into claws. “You need another cig?” He asked and held out the pack. Wordlessly, she grabbed a cigarette and rested it between her teeth.

She lit the cigarette and took a long drag before continuing, “It’s bullshit anyway, even if Blake dies, I wouldn’t get the alpha spot. It’d either be our son, whenever we have one, or one of my brothers.”

Nate thought about the Santos brothers, they were nasty pieces of work, “Why not you?”

Carmen smiled bitterly, “I’m a girl, McCree. In Deadlock, girlies ain’t good for much more than breeding. Did you ever see a bitten wolf that wasn’t a dude?”

“I— no. But… Itou let you do this mission, your little pack of girls are out on shit all the time.”

“Because I forced him to let me have that, and with this, he had no other option. Do you _really_ think he’d willingly let his _perfect mate_ go trapeze around Mexico with some bitten wolf?” Carmen’s laugh was brittle and when she stared darkly at the bay, her profile was lit by an almost fiery halo by the setting sun.

“So why do you stay?” Nate asked slowly. “I’m sure you could take your ladies and start a new pack somewhere.”

“Deadlock is _everything_ to me, Nate. I’m still young, I’ll force Blake to give me more control someday.”

“I didn’t know what I was gettin’ into when I joined Deadlock,” Nate admitted quietly. “I was fifteen, it seemed like a good way to make a quick buck. And I don’t mind the werewolf shit, fuck I _like_ the strength and power it gives me.”

“But you didn’t expect everything else that came with it?”

“I thought that when I was bitten, I’d be on the top of the food chain. And I guess I am to the humans,” he sighed and took a long drag of his cigarette. “But I ain’t told anything and I’ll never get the chance move up since I wasn’t _lucky_ enough to be born a wolf.”

“I wasn’t lucky enough to be born a man and you were born as a human, welcome to life in a pack of werewolves I guess,” Carmen sighed. “Imagine how far we’d have gone if we weren’t limited by this shit.”

“Born a boy and born a wolf,” Nate hummed. “Well, we come together and we got that shit on lock.”

Carmen snorted, “If only.”

\---

Jesse stared at the steel wall in front of him, “Pa told me that he ain’t ever seen a woman more beautiful than my mom was that day.” He let out a sighing growl and his ear flicked, “Of course, they came together and got not only a born wolf, but one that was born a boy. Too bad it was me.”

Jesse sighed again and shifted until he was laying on his side. He heard Gabriel shuffle on the other side of the wall and whine loudly. “I ain’t ever been good for nothing. All I’ve ever done is fuck things up. Mom and pa would’ve still been alive if it weren’t for me, I wouldn’t have fucked everythin’ up for you, I’m just a goddamned curse to this world. Can’t even bring myself to apologize for it when you ain’t out of your mind.”

Jesse clenched his hand and felt claws pierce the pads on his palms, “I can only ever fuckin’ talk to Angie and Fareeha, everyone else I just fucking _can’t._ They try, Blaise has tried at least. But I just goddamn shut down and can’t do it. I look at everyone and I see Deadlock.” Jesse felt tears brimming in his eyes and tried to will them away. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be better, don’t know if I can ever move past it.”

Jesse wiped the bitter tears away, “Pa told me a lot about the nights he spent in Mexico with mom. They fell for each other hard and fast, and sometimes I wonder if I’ll have anyone like that. But I ain’t worth it, never will be.” He sighed and nestled closer to the door, he could almost feel Gabriel’s body heat on the other side. “One of those nights in Dorado, pa tried to get mom to run away with him…”

\---

“Leave Deadlock with me, Carmen,” Nate pulled Carmen’s body closer to him and nestled his nose in the crook of her neck. “You and me, we can live on our own, start our own pack.”

“I can’t, Nate,” Carmen shook her head. “Deadlock is my _life_ , my family.”

“We can start a new life together, a new family,” Nate let out a whine and bit down softly on her neck.

“Nate, I want to be with you—“

“Then leave with me! Sombra’s offered to cover our tracks, build us new identities.”

“Deadlock wouldn’t ever let us go, Nate. These tattoos we have?” She rolled over and rested a hand on Nate’s bared pec, right over his Deadlock tattoo. “We’re Deadlock forever, nothing will change that.”

“Sombra will—“

“She’ll what, Nate? Give us a month before Blake sends my brothers to look for us? They’d take me back alive and tear you apart then and there.”

“I’ll be killed just for havin’ been like this with you,” he motioned at their naked bodies, the tangled sheets around them.

“You won’t, Blake will never know,” Carmen shook her head. “I love you, more than _anything_ , more than I thought possible. But we’ve been dealt a shit hand in life,” she ran a hand along Nate’s close cropped beard. “We just gotta roll with it.”

Nate closed his eyes and nuzzled into Carmen’s touch, “We could just _try_ , Carm.”

“We can try and make it work in Deadlock,” Carmen murmured. “Because out there? We’d die. Not only with Deadlock, but the bots are getting worse.”

“I know,” Nate replied with a sigh. They had just gotten back from sabotaging a small town of omnics. They had provided the muscle while Sombra dropped EMPs. But it seemed the more bots they knocked out, the more came out of the woodwork.

Nate rubbed a gentle thumb along a healing cut on Carmen’s arm, she had barely dodged a bastion unit three days earlier, “But I just, god I don’t know, I want us to have a shot at this together.”

“Blake will die one day,” Carmen pressed her chest to Nate’s and kissed along his jaw. “He’ll die and we will be able to be together, openly.”

Nate closed his eyes and sighed, “But when, Carmen? He’s barely thirty, he won’t die for years.”

Nate didn’t see the way Carmen’s eyes were dark as she spoke next, “He’s mortal, same as us. He has the same weaknesses that we do.”

\---

Months passed in Dorado and the sweltering heat began to retreat into an almost tolerable temperature as fall came. But along with the changes of seasons came what Nate had been dreading the most, rut.

“What are we gonna do?” Nate asked as he and Carmen walked barefoot along the edge of the bay. The blue water shone like a jewel in the setting sun.

“Figure it out?” Carmen offered with a shrug and a smile. “I want to spend my heat with you, Nate, I do.”

“It’s too risky,” Nate shook his head. “Blake would kill me if I touched you when you’re in heat.”

“ _Fuck_ Blake,” Carmen scowled. “This is our _one_ opportunity for us to spend time like this together. Pregnancy is rare enough that I’m not worried.”

“Carm,” Nate rested a hand on her shoulder and paused. The air was sweet with her scent, covering up even the salty spray of the waters. Her heat was soon to come, his rut as well. “You’re the one who doesn’t want to leave Deadlock.”

“Nate, I want to have this moment with you. I’ve been able to make so few choices in my life, let me choose you for this,” Carmen wrapped her arms around Nate’s waist and laid her head on his chest. “Let me choose you and let me choose to stay in Deadlock.”

“Can you really choose us both?” Nate asked softly, but still pulled Carmen in tighter. “Carmen, I— I don’t know if I’m gonna go back to Deadlock after all of this.”

Carmen froze in Nate’s arms, “What do you mean?” She asked.

“I might stay with Los Muertos, they’ve offered me a position. A spot where I won’t be treated like garbage for bein’ a bitten wolf,” he put a thumb under Carmen’s chin to have her look up at him. “There’s a spot for you. You were born into Deadlock, choose me instead, choose Los Muertos.”

“You don’t have any family Nate, you don’t understand,” Carmen shook her head. “I love you, I do, but Deadlock is my _home_ , it’s your home too.”

“Become my family,” Nate pleaded. “Stay with me, we can do great with Los Muertos, look at everythin’ we’ve done so far.”

“What we’ve done so far is help solidify an alliance between Deadlock and Los Muertos, and you want to ruin it by defecting?” Carmen asked.

“What has Deadlock ever done for us?” Nate snapped. “You were forced to become the mate of a man you didn’t love, you’re passed over and ignored because you’re a woman. Here? We’d have a world of opportunities. You and I could make somethin’ of ourselves.”

“I can make something of myself in Deadlock!” Carmen snapped back. “I have _plans_ , Nate. I’m not sitting back, waiting for Blake to tell me when to spread my legs and make him sons.” She pulled back from Nate and stared at him with rage in her eyes, “Deadlock is going to be mine before I turn thirty.”

Nate recoiled at the dark look, “Carmen—“

“Trust me,” Carmen’s hands were clenched into tight fists. “Just… just trust me.”

“Then can we just run away for the week?” Nate asked softly. “Spend your heat, my rut, alone together? Pretend that the world won’t come crashing down around us when we’re done?”

Blood dripped from claw marks on Carmen’s palms when she opened her fists and wrapped her hands around Nate’s. She closed her eyes and rested her head in the crook of Nate’s neck, “I want you to stay with me, forever.”

“I know, sweetheart,” Nate whispered and squeezed Carmen’s gun calloused hands. “But forever’s a mighty long time.”

\---

“Pa didn’t tell me much about the rut shit,” Jesse said. “Makes sense, I was a kid, and honestly, I don’t wanna think about him havin’ sex. Hell, even when he had rut when I was with him, he’d find a friend, usually a Muertos vamp, and shove me on them for the week.”

Jesse heard Gabriel whine and growl softly on the other side of the door and could almost imagine that Gabriel’s growls almost said, “Jesse.”

“I wish I had gotten the chance to meet my mom,” Jesse whispered. “I wish that she had gotten the chance to kill Itou and take her spot as Deadlock’s alpha,” he shook his head and his ears twitched. “At least y’all killed that piece of shit in the raid. He deserved that death for everything he did to pa and me.”

Jesse sat up and leaned against the cool wall, “But at least mom and pa had gotten to spend their week of rut and heat together. Unfortunately, it resulted in me…”

\---

“I’m pregnant,” Carmen said suddenly one night while her and Nate were laying in bed. About a month had passed since rut.

“Uh,” Nate wasn’t sure what to say. Panic coursed through his veins at the thought. He was only twenty two, he didn’t even _feel_ like an actual adult half the time. How could he have a kid? “Are… are you sure?”

“I have morning sickness, Nate,” Carmen shook her head and grabbed Nate’s hand. “Plus, I _really_ doubt this gut is from the food here.”

“Parasites?” Nate squeaked out.

“I don’t want this kid either,” Carmen shook her head. “I… I’m not ready for kids.”

“Itou’s gonna kill us.”

“Blake’s not going to know.”

“Carm, it’s _really_ hard to hide a kid,” Nate snapped. He couldn’t help it.

“You’re gonna run away with it,” Carmen said slowly. “Keep it hidden from Deadlock.”

“And what about you?” Nate asked.

Carmen was silent.

“Carm?”

“Deadlock is _everything_ to me,” Carmen avoided Nate’s broken gaze.

“You can’t be serious. This isn’t some goddamned puppy you can send to the pound, Carmen.”

“It’s in me, Nate, I _know_ ,” Carmen snapped. “This isn’t permanent, I’d set you up with a way for me to tell you when it’s safe to come back to Deadlock with the kid.”

“Or you could see this as the world proving to us that Deadlock isn’t our home.”

“I’m not ready for a kid, Nate.”

“And you think I am?” Nate snapped. “Hey Carmen, you’re older than me. Do you really think that _I_ can take care of a kid while you can’t?”

“It’s not forever!” Carmen protested. “Just a few months, maybe years, then we can raise the kid together.”

Nate scowled, “Do you really think it’s gonna be the easy? That suddenly you’re gonna what, convince Itou that he should step down and make you alpha?”

“I’m going to kill him,” Carmen snapped. “I have a silver knife that I’m going to stab through his throat the next time he tries to fuck me.”

Nate recoiled at the sudden fury in Carmen’s eyes and voice, “Carm—“

“When I kill Blake, nobody can deny _me_ as the pack’s alpha. Nobody can stand between us,” Carmen’s brown eyes had shifted to the golden of her wolven form. “It won’t be long,” she rested a clawed, furred hand on her belly. “When we’re done here, when I’m back in the gorge, Blake’s a dead man walking.”

“And what if you die?” Nate barked. “Then it’ll be me raising this kid without its mother because she thought she could change the ways of a pack of wolves?”

“Nate, listen—“

“No, Carmen,” Nate scowled and shook his head. “You know what I am? I’m a twenty two year old who’s been a criminal his entire life. I ain’t ready to be a dad, especially not a single dad, _especially_ not a single dad to a goddamned werewolf.”

“What other option do we have?” Carmen snapped back. “If we both leave, Deadlock’s gonna find us and kill us.”

“Los Muertos will—“

“Will abandon us as soon as it means there’d be trouble between it and Deadlock. Our kid, if it’s a boy will have Santos blood. He’ll have a shot at being Alpha if my brothers don’t get mates. That means they’d _kill_ him,” Carmen stared at Nate, eyes burning with fury. “We have _no_ other options, Nate.”

Nate sighed and his body went loose, “I don’t want to leave you.” He pulled Carmen in tight and rested a hand on her belly, imagining that he could feel the baby kicking. “You’re the best thing I’ve found in Deadlock.” His breath ghosted over the her scent gland and he wished he could sink his teeth into it like she had sunk hers into his.

“It won’t be forever,” Carmen’s voice was a whisper and she entangled her hands in Nate’s hair. “You and I will prove that female wolves and bitten wolves _are_ worthy.”

Nate kissed her scent gland, it wasn’t a bite, but it was enough, “I hope so, babe.”

\---

“Deadlock knows,” Sombra burst into the room Nate and Carmen had taken to sharing. “They know and Blake’s _not_ happy.”

Carmen snapped her head up from Jesse who was nursing, “How?”

“A mole,” Sombra scowled. “Sangre took care of him, but information’s already out.”

“And I’m guessing Los Muertos are kicking us out?” Carmen asked.

“I can hook you up with a place to hide until Itou’s gone,” Sombra shrugged. “Pro bono, for once. But yeah, Sangre doesn’t want the wrath of Blake Itou coming down on her.”

“God _dammit_ ,” Nate swore. “How long until he’s here?”

“Couple hours maybe,” Sombra shrugged. “I’ll glamour the house in town, hide your scent and make them look past it. Sangre’s allowing at least that, said it’s only right for the help you’ve given us with the omnics.”

“And then we’re kicked out.”

“And then you’re kicked out.”

Carmen scowled, “I’m gonna kill Blake. Los Muertos isn’t gonna have to worry about Deadlock because I’m gonna kill him as soon as he steps foot in this fucking town.”

“Or you could run, find a place and raise Jesse with Nate,” Sombra said. “Look, Carmen, the bots are getting worse, Deadlock’s not gonna change. If you want my advice? Get away from this shit while you can and raise Jesse in some forest or something.”

“I don’t want your advice, Sombra. Deadlock is _mine_ , I deserve it,” Carmen shook her head and pulled Jesse from her breast. He whined softly and reached out with his small hands, he wasn't even a month old yet, the first full moon hadn’t passed in order to shift him into a wolf.

“It’s your funeral,” Sombra shook her head.

“No, it’s Blake’s.”

\---

“That was the last time that pa saw mom in the same room,” Jesse said softly. “Pa took Sombra up on her offer to hide him and me,” he swallowed and ran a hand through the thick fur of his neck. “Mom had… she kissed me on the forehead and then kissed pa, told him that she’d see him soon.”

Gabriel growled out sounds that almost sounded like words. But then he stopped with a frustrated noise. Almost like he was trying to speak and Jesse froze. But the noises never formed into words and Jesse let out a breath.

“Pa never told me in detail what happened,” he said softly. “Just that he heard Itou call her a whore and that she didn’t survive their fight.” Jesse closed his eyes and swallowed around the lump in his throat again, “If she hadn’t tried to fight, if they didn’t have me, she’d still be alive. Pa didn’t even get to say goodbye, Itou took her body with him when he left.”

Gabriel whined on the other side of the door softly.

“He tried his best with me, he really did,” Jesse whispered. “Pa wasn’t a good man… he was a murderer, he stole, he did whatever it took to survive, but he tried to raise me well…”

\---

Nate stared at the puppy in front of him as he tripped over his own paws. “Jesse,” he said softly and ran a gentle hand through his soft fur. “What am I gonna do with you?”

Carmen had told him what to expect when raising a werewolf, until he was nearly four, Jesse would mostly be a wolf. When he got older, he’d slowly start spending more and more time in a human form.

Jesse’s tail wagged as he stared at Nate and he rolled over onto his back, “I’m not playin’ with you, pup,” Nate shook his head. “You need to come eat before we need to hit the road again.”

Jesse let out a high pitched bark and wiggled more on his back. Three years had passed since Carmen had been killed. Three years of hopping between countless towns in the southwest and Mexico.

About a year after Carmen had died, the omnics had revolted. Quickly, the world had dissolved into near chaos as the tin cans had waged their war with humanity.

“Use your words, Jess,” Nate shook his head. “You gotta eat so we can move on before the omnics find us.”

Jesse growled softly and barked again.

“Words, pup.”

“H-hard,” Jesse whined. His voice was distorted, words barely recognizable as English. The canine mouth wasn’t meant for human words and werewolves were slower to speak than humans, but Nate was determined to get Jesse speaking.

“I know it’s hard, but you gotta get the practice in.”

“Don’t wanna,” Jesse then let out another few barks of protest.

“Come on bud, I know you can do it.” Jesse shook his head while Nate picked him up. “Just speak a little more for me, then you can eat, and then we can get movin’ and find a nice place to hole up for the night in.”

“Pa,” Jesse growled and whined some more after the word but then continued. “I don’t like this.”

“We all gotta do things we don’t like,” Nate pet Jesse’s soft, chubby belly. Despite being the size of an average toddler, if a little skinny, in the rare times when he wasn’t shifted, when shifted Jesse was still maybe only about ten or fifteen pounds. He still had the soft fur of a puppy and a chubby little puppy belly.

It was damn cute, Nate had to admit, but he felt almost a disconnect from his son. He loved him, more than he ever thought possible. But Jesse just looked like a dog to him, like something that he should care about as a pet more than as a person.

Maybe that’s why he wanted to get Jesse to speak when shifted, he figured, so instead of seeing and hearing a wolf puppy, he’d hear a human child instead.

“Pa, I just wanna eat,” Jesse’s voice was a high pitched whine as he wiggled on Nate’s lap.

Nate sighed, that was as good as he was gonna get out of Jesse, and pulled out a bag of food that he had stolen from the town they had passed through the other day. It was mostly non perishables, protein bars and stuff for him, but there was some canned tuna and chicken that he had for Jesse.

“Here, Jess,” Nate murmured and pulled the tab on a tin of chicken. He grabbed a small bit of the shredded chicken and held it out for Jesse. Jesse immediately snapped it out of his fingers, razor sharp teeth barely avoiding Nate’s flesh.

“Careful,” Nate murmured as he pulled out some more for Jesse, who continued to eat hungrily.

When Jesse finished the tin of chicken, Nate pulled out a couple of protein bars for himself that he scarfed down hungrily. It wasn’t enough, was never enough, but it would have to do. He couldn’t hunt, not with Jesse being so young. So he settled for having his stomach constantly growl if it meant that Jesse could be full and happy.

“Come on, bud,” Nate stood up and cradled Jesse in his arms. Jesse licked at Nate’s arm and let out a high pitched whine, full and sated. “Let’s see if we can’t make it to the next town over.”

\---

“The first time I hunted with my pa,” Jesse murmured and leaned against the door some more. “I was ten, and _shit_ , Reyes, I don’t know if I’ll ever forget that moment. I ain’t ever felt as free as I had with pa that day…”

\---

“Pa, come _on_ ,” Jesse nipped at Nate’s tail and bounced around on his too large paws. Nate had promised that he’d take him into the forest that day and see if they could catch a deer.

“We’ve got all day pup,” Nate said and chuffed softly.

“You ain’t doin’ nothing but tearing apart a bastion,” Jesse whined and tried to climb onto Nate’s lap before he was pushed off with a gentle hand.

“Tearin’ it apart to get us money,” Nate said. Human hands were better for nimble work, but he needed the full strength of his shifted form to rip the omnic apart. Not to mention, he and Jesse mostly stayed shifted those days. It was easier to turn tail and run that way.

Jesse knew Deadlock was looking for them. He heard Nate talk in Spanish on phone calls with somebody named Sombra. His Spanish was bad, but he could understand a few words, and Deadlock was in English.

“What if Gibbs finds us first?” Jesse whined and shoved his cold nose onto Nate’s leg.

“How do you know that name?” Nate’s head flicked to him.

“Heard you on the phone,” Jesse flopped onto his side and wrapped his mouth around a leg of the chair Nate was sat on. He gave it a few good chews before asking, “Why’re you afraid of him?”

“Gibbs is— Gibbs was a friend,” Nate sighed and pulled Jesse off of the ground and onto his lap. “I ain’t afraid of him, I’m afraid of who else would be with him.”

Jesse let out a pleased whine as Nate scratched at his fur with a clawed hand. Nate looked scary, but he was always so gentle. Jesse nipped softly at one of Nate’s fingers when it got too close to his face.

“We gotta get you chew toys, don’t we?” Nate asked with a chuckle. “You’re chewin’ on everythin’.”

“My teeth hurt,” Jesse said and his ears flicked. “Chewin’ makes them feel better.”

Nate hummed and set Jesse on the ground before standing up, “Guess we gotta see if we can catch a deer so you can chew on its bones and not me.”

Jesse’s ears perked up and he stood up so fast that he slid around on the hardwood floor of the cabin he and Nate had broken into. “We’re really gonna get goin‘?” He asked, tail wagging wildly.

“Mmhmm,” Nate hummed. “Gotta get this energy out of you somehow.”

Jesse barked in excitement and stood on his hind legs, front paws scratching at Nate’s thighs. He wouldn’t start going from looking like a young wolf to becoming bipedal for a few years still. But he was the size of a small lab, maybe forty pounds.

“Down, Jess,” Nate laughed and pushed Jesse down gently. His tail was wagging too and Jesse jumped to try and bite at it.

“Pa, come on, let’s go,” Jesse said around a mouthful of Nate’s tail.

“Let go of my tail first,” Nate said. Regretfully, Jesse let go of Nate’s tail to instead bounce across the room, batting at a sock that was lying around.

“You gotta calm down,” Nate knelt down next to Jesse who had rolled over onto his back. His entire body was wiggling, he was so excited. “Ain’t gonna catch nothin’ but air if you don’t relax, Jess.”

“But pa,” Jesse whined. “I’m _excited_ , I’ve wanted to do this with you for _ages_.”

“I’m excited too, but do you see me rollin’ around on the floor?”

“Ain’t ever seen you roll around,” Jesse said, he nipped lightly at the air in front of Nate’s leg.

“Maybe you should take that as a hint,” Nate laughed and picked Jesse up. Jesse yelped as Nate grabbed him, but went still in his arms. He was used to being carried around by Nate like that.

Jesse made happy grumbles and his tail wagged in excitement as Nate ran with him cradled gently in his arms. The cabin they had broken into was on the edge of a large forest in California. It was the furthest north the two had gone, Nate had wanted to meet with a human who dealt in scavenged omnic parts who lived in the northern part of the state.

“Remember Jesse, you gotta be quiet,” Nate said when he put Jesse down onto the forest floor.

“I _know_ , pa. I ain’t stupid,” Jesse said, shaking his head. He stopped mid-shake when he noticed a branch on the ground. His tail quivered in excitement as he focused in on it and pounced.

“Congrats, bud,” Nate laughed softly. “You caught a stick.”

The branch crunched in Jesse’s mouth as he chewed. “The branch is the big deer we’re gonna catch, I’m gonna bite its throat out,” he said, voice muffled by the stick.

“Are you now?” Nate asked, his tail wagged slowly as he stared down at Jesse. “We gonna get a big buck?”

“The biggest!” The branch snapped in half and Jesse stomped his paws in the soft dirt.

“Then follow my lead, we gotta find a deer first,” Nate leaned over until his hands were resting on the ground. Full grown werewolves were bipedal but they could run faster using their arms.

Jesse skittered next to Nate and stared intently as Nate closed his eyes and scented the air. Jesse tried to mimic him, but ended up sneezing.

“Focus,” Nate hummed softly. Jesse squeezed his eyes shut tighter and pricked his ears up. The scent of the forest was near overwhelming and he bit back a whine of annoyance.

“This way,” Nate murmured softly and nudged at Jesse with his snout.

Jesse opened his eyes and watched as Nate slowly began to walk away. Jesse followed, paws as light on the forest floor as possible. The dirt was slightly sticky, it had rained earlier that day, and as he brushed against bushes, his fur came away wet. But he didn’t even notice as he walked, caught up in excitement about _finally_ getting to hunt with his pa.

Nate let out a soft growl that Jesse knew meant _hold back_ , and Jesse forced himself to stay still. It was hard, he wanted to wag his tail in excitement. But he willed even that into something that would rival a statue.

Jesse’s ears twitched as he heard the soft sound of deer moving slowly, it was the middle of the day and he knew they’d be mostly sleeping. The perfect time to try and hunt.

Jesse tried watch Nate as he slunk around the forest, but it was difficult. Nate’s fur blended in with the wood, and despite his massive form, he managed to stay mostly hidden and utterly silent.

It was like that for several minutes, and Jesse found himself quickly bored, waiting. He wanted to find a stick to chew or _something_ , but he knew Nate would be upset with him if he stopped paying attention and screwed up the hunt.

So he stood and waited, and waited, and _waited_ for what felt like years.

By the time he heard the panicked bleats of the deer, Jesse was nearly asleep on his feet.

“They’re comin’ your way, Jesse,” he heard Nate shout and Jesse yipped in excitement.

The deer were so much more massive than he had ever expected and he could smell the acrid smell of fear on the air as they saw him.

He heard the heavy sound of Nate’s paws hammering against the forest floor, but his attention was zeroed in on the deer that turned away from him as they saw him.

Jesse bolted forward at once and ran alongside the deer, keeping up easily. He waited for an opening to avoid the sharp hooves and horns of the frightened animals, and his tongue lolled out the side of his open, panting mouth as he ran.

Jesse howled in excitement before he finally leaped at a massive buck. It bleated in terror and tried to shake him off, but Jesse latched his sharp teeth and claws into the animal's hide. He shook his head, tearing loose a huge chunk of flesh and fur and felt blood paint his fur. The scent of blood only spurred him on further and he bit down hard onto the deer’s throat. The animal stopped moving.

“Good catch, Jesse,” Nate rumbled approvingly at the blood covered Jesse and licked along his bloodied chest fur. “Try and be less messy the next time, though.”

“Did you see that?” Jesse jumped excitedly onto Nate and licked at his belly. “The deer was _so_ scared but I brought it down like it was nothin’!”

“Yeah, I saw,” Nate laughed and bent down to lick between Jesse’s ears. “I’m proud of you.”

Jesse’s tail wagged like crazy and he fell over onto his back and wiggled in the mud, “I wanna hunt more with you, pa.”

“Only when it’s safe,” Nate said and knelt down next to Jesse to rub at his mud and blood covered belly. “Can’t have you at risk of gettin’ hit by bastions or nothing.”

“I could take on a bastion! Did you see how quick I was? I bet I’ll be as fast as mom was when I’m full grown!” Jesse devolved into a series of excited yips and growls as Nate scratched at his belly.

“Maybe you could, but you gotta let your old man take care of them for you,” Nate said. “Now go take a bite outta that deer before it gets cold.”

Jesse’s eyes widened and he rolled over as fast as he could. His paws scrambled for purchase in the blood slick mud as he got closer to the still warm deer. “How do I eat it?” He asked as he stared at the carcass.

“Just dig in,” Nate shrugged. “You can start at its neck where you ripped out that big chunk.” Jesse’s tail wagged and his mouth watered at the sight of the bleeding wound. “You’re slobberin’ there,” Nate laughed before Jesse dug into his first kill.

\---

“I’ll never forget the taste of that deer, best damn thing I ever ate,” Jesse said quietly. “Ain’t nothin’ like the hunt. Pa and I tried to hunt everywhere we went. I was good everywhere, but I did best in the desert.”

He sighed and laid down again on the ground, “Pa died in the desert near Deadlock territory.” His voice was a quivering whisper. “There was a bastion we didn’t notice. I was twelve…”

\---

“ _Pa_ ,” Jesse screamed as the bastion sent a spray of bullets at Nate. The air was red with blood as the bullets tore through Nate’s side.

Nate roared in pain and charged the Bastion as it stopped to reload. He ripped the gun off of its back first, and then the head.

Jesse scrambled to Nate as fast as he could, his shifted form was awkward and gangly, some horrific, grotesque mix of canine and human, and his balance was off.

“I’m fine,” Nate wheezed and held a hand around the wound in his side. “Bury the blood, Jess, we’re too close to Deadlock to leave my scent hangin’ around.”

“You’re hurt,” Jesss said quietly as he kicked sand around the crimson blood.

“I’ll be fine,” Nate shook his head. “Just gotta get back to base and get a bandage all wrapped up around this.”

Nate was not fine.

About a day and a half after Jesse half dragged him back to the cave they had holed up in, Nate had unwillingly shifted back to his human form. His normally tanned skin was pale and clammy and something about the wound smelled off to Jesse.

“Pa,” Jesse whined and nosed at his uninsured side.

“Hush,” Nate stroked a hand through Jesse’s fur. “I’ll be fine, Jess. Don’t worry about me none.”

“I think there’s somethin’ wrong with the wound, pa,” Jesse shook his head. “Let me call Sombra, she’s know what to do.”

“She won’t Jess, I don’t think that—“ he stiffened at the sound of footsteps around their cave.

“Pa?”

“Hush,” Nate hissed softly.

“ _Don’t like the smell of other werewolves ‘round here_ ,” a rough male voice growled in the distance.

“ _It might be dead_ ,” another replied and Jesse felt Nate’s hand tighten in his fur. He looked up and there was terror in Nate’s eyes.

“Might _ain’t good enough_ ,” a third and final voice said. “ _Search the caves; we’re either gonna find a dead wolf or we’ll find a wolf that’ll learn a very hard lesson about gettin’ close to Deadlock territory_.”

Jesse stayed stock still and dead silent. If the fear in Nate’s eyes wasn’t enough to silence him, the mention of Deadlock sure as hell was.

Time passed slowly, and it felt like hours passed, trapped in that cave. Jesse tried to make his breaths as silent as possible, but Nate’s were ragged and wet.

Heavy footfalls sounded around the area outside of their cave and Jesse screwed his eyes shut in fear. He prayed to whatever god was out there that they’d keep moving, not check out their cave.

But whatever god there was must have hated him because there were slow, unhurried steps into the small cave and a sudden, “Well, I’ll be damned. Your dumb ass thought it was smart to come back to Deadlock territory. You think you could get back in after tarnishin’ the Santos family name?”

“Fuck off, Rob,” Nate growled and Jesse looked up to see a cruel looking, muscular man.

“What happened, McCree? Finally get what was comin’ to you?” Rob Santos sneered and leaned down. “What’s this? The fuckin’ mongrel that you wrecked my baby sister with?”

“He ain’t no mongrel.”

“Shut the _fuck up_ , McCree,” Rob snarled. “Your little act in Dorado with Carmen? The Santos family ain’t ever been in such shit afterwards. Itou took it all out on us for some stupid fuckin’ turned wolf trash wreckin’ his perfect mate.”

Jesse growled and bared his teeth at Rob.

“Don’t you bare your teeth at me, mongrel,” Rob bared his own teeth at Jesse. The canines were elongated and razor sharp. “That’s no way to treat your uncle.”

“Leave us the fuck alone, Rob,” Nate growled. “I don’t want nothin’ to do with Deadlock.”

“You’re gonna die with a wound like that, McCree,” Rob stared at Nate with cruel eyes and Jesse shifted closer to him. “Was it that Bastion that got you?”

Nate was silent.

“Of course it was, shoulda smelt the shit on the blood to realize that it was a McCree that bled all over it. Want to know the one who scented the blood first?” Rob leaned over and dug a finger into Nate’s side and drew out a scream of pain as he tore through injured, infected flesh. “It was your _good friend_ Gibbs. That mutt’s got a hell of a nose on him, we’d have ignored the bastion if he hadn’t smelt werewolf blood.”

“Leave us alone,” Jesse snarled.

Rob laughed, it was a nasty sound. “Leave you alone? Mongrel you don’t understand _shit_ if you think I’ll be leavin’ you alone. Bet we could find a nice place for you in Deadlock, tight little cage for you.”

“ _No_ ,” Nate roared. “You ain’t takin’ him back to Deadlock.”

“He’s got Santos blood in him, McCree,” Rob sneered. “Can’t rightly leave him to starve to death in the desert while his pa bleeds out.”

“Leave him out of whatever fuckin’ revenge you want.”

Rob snarled and pulled Nate up by the throat, “He’s gonna find a nice little home in Deadlock, McCree. Gonna be an example to any wolf who thinks he’s hot enough shit to fuck with one of the girlies.”

“ _No_ ,” the word was a whisper. “He’s innocent, Rob. Don’t do this to him.”

Rob sneered at Nate, “You’re gonna bleed out here, alone in the desert. You’re gonna die knowin’ that you ain’t saved your fuckin’ mongrel son from jack _shit_.”

\---

Jesse broke into a sob, “Rob killed my pa. Right in front of me, he clawed out his stomach from the wound from the bastion. Said he was savin’ him from dyin’ slowly. But it was…” he broke off.

“I was made an example out of in Deadlock. The only thing I was useful for was hard labor and shootin’. I got my pa’s skills.” His ears laid flat against his head and he stared at the walls. “Itou kicked the shit out of me, and I was less than dirt in Deadlock’s eyes.”

“Jesse,” Gabriel’s voice was a rough growl, but understandable. Lucid. He wasn’t feral, and Jesse froze, unsure of how much he heard, how much he understood, “I’m sorry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOY THIS WAS A LONG CHAPTER.... being honest I could have broken it up into two chapters, but idk I felt it worked as one haha. RIP jesse's hot parents  
> \---  
> Follow me online @smalls2233 or on my new [nsfw twitter](https://twitter.com/smallsNSFW)


	13. Chapter 12 -- 2056

“Jesse, I’m sorry,” were the first words Gabriel could force himself to say. For damn near three hours, Jesse sat outside his door spilling his guts to him while Gabriel clawed his way to consciousness, to any form of control, guided by the growling drawl of Jesse’s voice. 

The words were difficult, came out half garbled; human words weren’t meant to come from a canine mouth. He had been trying to speak since he first regained consciousness, but everything had come out as a growl or a whine.

There was dead silence for what had to have been thirty seconds before Jesse finally croaked out, “How?”

It took Gabriel several tries to form the words to respond, “How what?”

“You— I—“ Jesse sounded flustered and Gabriel’s jaw clenched.

“Talk to me, McCree,” the words were getting easier to say the more Gabriel talked, but he was certain they were still coming out half garbled. He didn’t even want to think about how he would force himself to move more than a few steps, shifted as he was.

“You ain’t supposed to be aware,” Jesse snapped. Gabriel froze at the words. “How much were you…” Jesse trailed off for several long seconds.

“McCree.”

“How much did you hear?” The question was finished with a growl from Jesse that was more aggressive than Gabriel had heard in months. 

Gabriel clenched his paw-like hands and stared at the steel of the door. “I… I don’t know,” he confessed. “Everything was hazy, but at some point when you were talking about your parents driving to Mexico, I started being able to understand the words. Jesse—“ Gabriel’s sentence hung unfinished, through the wall, he heard the clicks of Jesse’s claws on the floor, faster and faster as he bolted down the hall.

“God  _ dammit _ ,” Gabriel threw his head back against the wall, wincing as bones hit harder than he had expected. Everything was unfamiliar being as he was, his limbs were too big, his head still more hazy than he would have liked. He didn’t know if he would have been able to control himself around humans.

“Gabe?” Jack’s voice was almost hesitant as he buzzed in over the intercom. “That you in there?”

“Could anybody else run McCree out with about ten words?” Gabriel asked in response, trying to laugh but instead letting out a strange wheezing noise.

“Me, maybe,” Jack chuckled softly before continuing on, more serious. “How do you feel?”

“Hazy,” Gabriel admitted and tried to stand up. He nearly toppled over in seconds, unused to the balance of the new form. His arms were too big, torso heavier than he was used to. Everything just felt wrong, unnatural. “It’s… you remember the tenth round of shots?”

“Yeah,” Jack’s response was almost a breath. They had lost a ton of soldiers in the tenth round of shots, but the ones that survived were taller, wider, stronger. 

“Where’s the doc, shouldn’t she be asking these questions?”

“Ran off after the kid, left me to be your nanny,” Jack said and Gabriel could  _ hear  _ his eyes rolling. “What else can you tell me about this?”

“I—“ the words devolved into a series of whines and growls, only growing worse as Gabriel grew more frustrated. He slammed a fist against the wall in his frustration.

“Grab your mou—snout if you’re in control and not feral, Gabe,” Jack buzzed in again and Gabriel immediately touched a few fingers to his snout. “Right, do you think you’re at risk of going feral again?”

Gabriel tried to speak, but all that came out was another growl. He grit his teeth in frustration and shrugged at Jack. It would have been fantastic if Jesse hadn’t run off to god knows where so he could have done anything to help.

“So I’m not gonna go in there,” Jack murmured. “Let me buzz Doctor Ziegler to see if she’s gotten McCree yet. Do you think it’d be safe to throw him in there with you?”

Another shrug. Gabriel  _ thought  _ it would be fine, but he didn’t know for sure and regardless of his mixed feelings on the kid, he didn’t want to hurt him. Not any more than he had already been hurt.

“I don’t know what to do with him,” garbled, but understandable words came out in a whined sigh. “He’s… he’s not a bad kid but…”

“If it were up to me, Gabe, he’d be in a jail cell,” Jack replied. “Forced into Deadlock or not, he still did a lot of killing for them.”

“Remind me to look up Carmen Santos after tonight,” Gabriel said slowly. He hadn’t seen anything on her when looking for Jesse’s parents. He had pinned Nate McCree as Jesse’s father, but he hadn’t seen a woman named McCree anywhere in Deadlock’s records.

“The Santos family’s got a long rap sheet,” Jack replied. “Don’t even have to look them up to know they had their roots in the Southwestern crime scene long before Deadlock ever existed.”

“Her  _ specifically _ though, Deadlock kept notes on all their killings, at the very least we could give the kid closure on how his mom died.”

“Gabe, if your mom was murdered for fucking somebody, would you want to know the details?” Gabriel could hear Jack’s fingers drumming on the table.

Gabriel tried and failed to frown, canine face muscles unable to approximate the human movement. His ear twitched, “It’d give him closure at the very least. What he was saying…”

“If we forgave every criminal with a sorry past, the jails would the empty,” Jack said. He was silent for a few moments and then added, “McCree is difficult, Gabe. Ana says he’s been better with Blackwatch but he doesn’t make any attempt to socialize with anybody besides Fareeha and the doctor.”

“I don’t care about him socializing to be honest,” Gabriel said slowly as he adjusted his posture to be more laying down than sitting, fingers absentmindedly tracing the claw marks in the wall. “Blackwatch isn’t your Grandma’s supper club. He’s better about following my orders but Ana said he’s still being difficult about working together in a team and I’m afraid that me not being feral when he spilled his guts to me is gonna set that back even further.”

“He should’ve realized we were recording,” Jack replied with a sigh. “Doctor Ziegler should be able to talk sense into him, hopefully. God knows that if I tried, I’d be on my ass in an instant.”

Gabriel snorted, “I think I’m right there with you, Jackie.”

“You know, the other day I was telling Ana—“ Jack paused. “Hold on, the doctor’s calling. Give me a sec Gabe.”

‘A sec’ turned into a minute, and then two, then five, by ten minutes Gabriel was getting antsy and twitchy.  “Jack,” Gabriel started after fifteen minutes passed.

“Are you gonna flip the fuck out if I stop observing you?” Jack asked.

“I’d like to be kept updated if you have to leave,” Gabriel responded. “But no, I should be fine. What happened?”

“McCree’s run off the fucking base.”

“Excuse me? How is that even possible?”

“The doctor couldn’t get him to calm down and he just barrelled past the human and bot guards. I’m the only one who might have the strength to bring him back in,” Jack paused for a moment. “Should just let the dumbass freeze for a few hours before he realizes that him spilling his guts to you isn’t his biggest problem but even I wouldn’t do that to the kid.”

“Jack,” Gabriel started slowly, an idea forming in his mind. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t think he’d intentionally hurt you but it’s dark, he’s emotional, and you’re not invincible.”

“Do we have another option?” Jack asked. “The mountains are dangerous, Gabe, and at least I know them.”

Gabriel was silent for a few long moments, “Me.”

“Gabe, it’s too dangerous for you.”

“It’s too dangerous for you, Jack!” Gabriel snapped. “I’ve known you since you were a dumbass recruit in SEP who was convinced that he could throw himself of everyone to protect them.”

“What if you hurt somebody? You’ve never been conscious in this form before, fuck, you don’t even know if you’ll stay conscious.”

“What the fuck other choice do we have, Jack?” Gabriel’s ears flicked in annoyance. “Putting you at risk is putting Overwatch at risk. You’re not just Jack Morrison the super soldier anymore, you’re Strike Commander Morrison, the face of hope for a generation.”

“I’m doing this, Gabe. I’m not letting you get yourself hurt,” Jack had the stubborn note in his voice that Gabriel knew meant he was going to take no objections.

Gabriel snarled and slammed his fist against the steel wall. It crumpled beneath him and he felt his bones rattle from his arms to his teeth at the force of the impact. “Jack you fucking moron, you’re going to get yourself killed.”

There was no response, Jack was gone. Gabriel’s snarl intensified and he saw red with rage. The idiot was putting himself in too much danger. It was  _ exactly  _ the reason Gabriel had been chosen to lead the strike team. Jack was a good tactician and good leader, but as soon as he could put himself into a near death scenario to save someone else, all of his tactics and logic disappeared.

Gabriel began to lose himself to the anger and rage that took over his mind. Every feeling was too strong and he threw himself at the steel wall again and again, growls, snarls, and howls echoing in the nearly empty room.

——

Jesse didn’t know where he was running to, only that he needed to leave. He wasn’t even thinking, just pure instinct overtook him as he bolted down the halls of the Overwatch headquarters, shoving aside humans and Omnics alike as he ran. 

“Jesse,  _ stop _ ,” vaguely he heard Angela yelling for him. It was fuzzy, like she was on the other side of a wall. He didn’t stop, he just continued running and running. Nobody could catch him unless they wanted him to, he had inherited his speed from his mother.

“Jack, I need you here,” Angela spoke into a communicator, huffing and panting after following him for several minutes. He ignored it and shoved two omnics down before he bursted out of the door into the snowy outdoors. Despite it being summer, snow was still present high in the mountains as they were. The main base was located lower in the mountains, but Blackwatch and the testing facilities were higher up, connected through some super secret high speed elevators, there were some buildings, mainly rooms and apartments for Blackwatch assets on the outside, but much of it tunneled deep within the rocks of the mountains.

It was past midnight and though the sun was long gone, it was still bright enough for him to see with how the light of the full moon and stars reflected off of the freshly fallen snow. He used that light to run mindlessly for at least an hour. It was exhausting, running through the foot deep snow. He wasn’t used to it, the bone deep chill it left, the way it matted his fur into painful clumps. But he ignored the pain and exhaustion as he ran.

After about an hour of running, he decided that he was far enough from the base for the night. They’d probably send a bot or something after him in the morning, but he could probably avoid it and figure his way out of the mountains to go and find a forest or some place to hide out in.

There was a small outcropping of rock that gave a little shelter that Jesse could curl himself into. It was a tight squeeze and the bitter wind cut through his summer coat, but it was better than facing Reyes.

He berated himself for being so fucking stupid. Of course the night he spilled his guts to Reyes was the first night the commander would be conscious. He hadn’t been prepared to  _ actually  _ talk about what happened to his parents to anyone. He must have looked like a fucking weak  _ moron _ sobbing in front of Reyes and whoever the fuck else was probably listening in.

Jesse violently shivered and curled in on himself tighter. He just had to deal with the cold, he could do that, he suffered through worse. He could worry about finding food in the morning. 

He closed his eyes and forced himself to fall asleep, it would be easier to ignore the cold if he was asleep.

——

It was still dark when Jesse awoke to the noise of a snowmobile rumbling in the distance. The very faintest hint of light was peeking through the dark sky, a sign that it was near dawn. 

The noises of the snowmobile were too close for comfort, there were very few hiding places that Jesse could find. He took a few deep breaths, the bitter cold air burning his lungs. He could run, he didn’t think the snowmobile would be able to keep up with him. But the deep snow was exhausting to run through.

“McCree I know you’re around here,” he heard goddamn Jack ‘I use hair gel to compensate for my lack of personality’ Morrison yelling. Jesse’s lips lifted in an annoyed snarl and he pressed closer to the mountain stone. His fur was too brown to blend in with the snow, but he hoped if he stood still, he could blend in with the rocks.

It took twenty minutes for Jesse to be able to see Morrison. He was working slowly across the area, Jesse assumed the wind had mostly hidden his path, but it had been visible enough to show the general direction he went. The sun was beginning to truly rise at that point, illuminating the sky in a pale pink. Morrison stood out against it, bundled tightly in Overwatch winter field gear. 

Jesse held his breath as Morrison drew closer and closer, methodically combing the area for any sight of him. He wanted to stay as still as he could, not give any movement to let Morrison see that he wasn’t a rock.

“Get out from hiding, McCree, and  _ talk  _ to me,” Morrison yelled again, far too close for comfort. Jesse felt a snarl of annoyance bubbling in his throat before he clenched his jaws tightly together to stop it. He didn’t know how above human Morrison’s hearing was, but he didn’t want to take any chances. 

“I know you’re there,” Morrison was still over a hundred feet away from him, but Jesse heard the snowmobile shut off. “Your body heat is off the charts, kid. Stand up and stop hiding.”

_ He could be bluffing _ , Jesse thought to himself. Morrison was still far enough away that he could just be screaming into nothing to get Jesse to move. So he stood still.

“For heaven's sake, don’t make me walk all the way over there,” Morrison stared right in Jesse’s direction and tapped the visor that went over one eye. Jesse couldn’t hold back the snarl at the sight, he had seen Reyes use one of those before when watching him train. It could read vitals and thermals of any living creature within fifty meters. “And don’t run, I have a tranq gun loaded with enough shit to knock out an elephant. I’m no Captain Amari, but even I can hit you.”

Jesse weighed his options; he could stay where he was and probably piss Morrison off, he could walk over to Morrison and probably get carted off to supermax for trying to run away, or he could take his chances and try to run.

“I’m not gonna hurt you, kid,” Jack yelled at him and Jesse snorted. Of course he wouldn’t hurt him, he’d only tranq the shit out of him and cart him off to rot in jail or be experimented on by the batshit doctor. 

Jesse stood still.

“I’m going to give you until the count of five before I start walking over there, and if I have to walk over there I’m gonna be feeling a lot less generous than if you came over here.”

Jesse continued to stand still.

“One.”

No movement.

“Two.”

The tip of Jesse’s tail twitched.

“Three. McCree, you’re not an idiot and I don’t know what you’re thinking, but we’re not gonna execute you for crying. Just calm down and get back to base so Doctor Ziegler can make sure you haven’t caught hypothermia.”

Jesse snarled loudly in response but he started taking slow, mechanical steps towards Morrison. He was about halfway there before he paused. 

He could run.

There was no way that Morrison could catch him, and he only had one shot to tranq him.

No more humans, no more being used, he could be free. Fareeha and Angela would be upset but… he needed freedom.

He took another step towards Morrison, then another. And then he turned. And then he took one step in the new direction, then another. After those two steps, he started bolting, running faster than any human ever could.

He took about ten huge, running steps before he felt a prick in the back of his neck and went down.

“Fucking Christ,” Jesse heard Morrison mutter over the sound of the snowmobile starting up. The machine carried the Strike Commander closer and closer to him before it stopped again. “Why do you keep doing this, kid? We’re not here to hurt you.”

Jesse snarled as Morrison squatted down next to him, he was holding something that Jesse couldn’t quite make out. He was seeing double and it was all hazy. Before Morrison could react, Jesse swatted with a massive hand, two claws catching on Jack’s face and drawing nasty scars on the diagonal.

Morrison howled in pain and slammed whatever it was he was holding in Jesse’s neck. The blood streaming down Morrison’s face was the last thing he saw before he passed out.

——

Gabriel paced around Jack’s office. As soon as he had been given the all clear to leave the containment room, he had nearly run the entire way down to the main base. He was going to… god, he didn’t know, beat the shit out of Jack for being such a dumbass? Yell at him for putting himself in danger?

Gabriel picked at the hem of his hoodie in worry as he paced. He got there at six and it wasn’t until nearly nine in the morning that anything happened in the office.

“What the  _ fuck  _ were you thinking, Indiana?” Gabriel snapped as soon as the doors to the office opened up.

“Dear god, Gabriel, don’t snap at me like that,” Ana scowled at him, hand clenched over her heart in shock. 

“Where the hell is Jack?” Gabriel scowled right back at her.

“In the infirmary he—“

“ _ Fucking Christ,”  _ Gabriel snapped, interrupting her.

“Gabriel!”

“When can I see the moron so I can give him a piece of my mind for putting himself at such a risk, for getting himself hurt?”

“Calm down and listen to me,” Ana snapped. “Jack is fine, Jesse clawed him after Jack got too close after tranquilizing him. He just needed a few stitches, unfortunately his looks aren’t perfect anymore, but he’s fine.”

“He could have  _ died,  _ Ana.”

“Jesse wouldn’t have killed him,” Ana frowned as she grabbed a tablet off of Jack’s desk. “He panicked after Jack got him with a dart. He tried running.”

“I  _ know _ McCree wouldn’t have killed him if he was in his right mind. But it was the night of the full moon, shit’s  _ different  _ on those nights.”

Ana stared Gabriel dead in the eyes, “Gabriel, calm down. I don’t think Jack should have gone after him either, but we can’t change the past. Jack’s being held so they can make sure he didn’t get infected, and Jesse’s being treated for hypothermia.”

“If his dumb ass becomes a werewolf I’m leaving Overwatch.”

“Fareeha is more mature than you!” Ana snapped at him. “She wouldn’t keep pouting and posturing over this.”

“He could have died, Ana.”

“He didn’t, Gabriel!” Ana threw a hand out and muttered about idiot boys in Arabic.

“I speak Arabic.”

“Good! Then you’ll know that you’re being unreasonable,” Ana frowned at him. “You can go see Jack, but if you try and berate him or get in a fight with him over what transpired last night, you’re in for a world of trouble, Gabriel.”

Gabriel scowled and nearly bared his teeth at Ana before he caught himself. He took a moment to collect himself before he slowly said, “I need your help on how to approach McCree about what happened last night.”

Ana gave him an unreadable look, “There’s some things you need to figure out yourself.”

“You’re one of the only ones who’ve been able to crack him, help me out here.”

“I didn’t listen to the tapes, Gabriel. You, Jack, and Angela are the only ones who know his story, and unless Jesse feels the need to share it with me, I’ll never know.”

“ _ Ana _ , come on,” Gabriel’s voice took on a whining note.

“No,” Ana shook her head. “You need to figure out Jesse on your own. He respects you, he likes you.”

“He tried to run away from Overwatch as soon as I learned about his past.”

“Gabriel, I’m not helping you here. This is something you need to do on your own,” Ana held her hands up. “You’re welcome to walk with me to the infirmary while I deliver Jack’s tablet and some paperwork to him, but what happened last night between you and Jesse is between you two. Don’t even think about asking Angela to help you out.”

“She’s his best friend and heard it too,” Gabriel protested, but he fell in step with Ana as she began to walk out of Jack’s office. “She’d know how to approach him,” he didn’t add that she would probably be more willing than Ana to help him figure Jesse out.

“No, Gabriel. This is something that  _ you  _ need to figure out personally.”

“ _ Ana _ ,” Gabriel whined.

“ _ No _ , if you don’t stop asking I’m going to—“ she cut herself off.

“You’re going to what?” Gabriel asked.

“I was going to say ground you, because congrats, you’re a thirty eight year old man who put me into the same frame of mind that I’m in with my thirteen, nearly fourteen, year old daughter.”

Gabriel frowned, “Put yourself into my shoes here.”

“I can’t solve your problems for you,” Ana shook her head and pressed a thumb to the scanner to access the high speed elevator to the Blackwatch base. “Did you know Fareeha came to me about two months ago, before school let out for the summer, asking about how to deal with bullies?”

“Are you trying to change the subject?”

“Hush,” Ana whacked him lightly on the arm with a file folder. “Since she had her growth spurt, some girls who used to be her friends have taken to making fun of her with some of the popular girls at school.”

Gabriel frowned, “That’s not right.”

“It’s not, but I told Fareeha the same thing I’m telling you. You’ll get nowhere if you only rely on other people to handle important decisions for you. Relying on others is good, it’s important. But there’s some things you need to do yourself.”

“What did Fareeha do?”

Ana’s lips tightened, “Let’s skip that part.”

“Ana.”

Ana sighed, “She got in a fight with one of the bullies after they made fun of her for her hair beads. They both got in school suspension for a week. But the bullying has stopped.”

Gabriel frowned, “I dealt with bullies growing up, it was why I joined the army. Why didn’t she ask me?”

“That’s not the important part,” the two were almost at the infirmary and Ana and Gabriel both pressed hands to bio scanner. “She solved the problem on her own. I wish she wouldn’t have gotten in the fight, but she stopped the bullying and learned that fighting had consequences. She wouldn’t have gained that if I had told her exactly what to do.”

The door to the infirmary opened automatically in front of them and they walked in. “So long story short, you’re gonna be no help?”

“Exactly,” Ana said. “I’m going to go see Jack, so please just go and talk to Jesse and straighten things out with him.”

Gabriel’s lips were tight and he was ready to protest, but Ana was already walking away. So instead he sighed and stared in the direction that he smelled Jesse in.

“Try not to fuck this up, Reyes,” he muttered to himself and started walking towards Jesse's direction. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late! For some reason this chapter took ages for me to find a way to start correctly. I'll get back on my update schedule now hopefully haha  
> \--  
> Follow me online @smalls2233 or [my new NSFW twitter](https://twitter.com/smallsnsfw)


	14. Chapter 13 -- 2056

Jesse didn’t look anything like he was recovering from hypothermia. Honestly, he looked more like a prisoner than a patient as Gabriel carefully slipped into the room, strapped into the strapped bed by thick leather with an IV bag slowly dripping fluids into him.

“You gonna do anything stupid if I unstrap you, McCree?” Gabriel asked, shutting the door behind him.

“Like spill my entire life story to you? Again.”

Gabriel frowned, “I was talking about nearly killing yourself in the damn Swiss Alps because you got embarrassed.”

“You knew I was plannin’ on running away.”

“ _Why_ do you want to run away, McCree?” Gabriel unstrapped Jesse. “You’re never gonna get anything from running away.”

“The hell do you know about any of this?” Jesse snapped. “You have _everything_ , you don’t know anything about me.”

Gabriel barely fought back a wince, _Good job, Reyes, you immediately fucked this up_. He took a deep breath and pulled up a chair before he said, “I’ve asked you before, and I’ll ask again; help me learn about you then, Jesse. I’m not here waiting to use this against you. You have an opportunity in Blackwatch to make something of yourself that you couldn’t get by running and hiding for your entire life.” Gabriel paused and gently said, “We could get you into therapy so you—“

“ _I_ _ain’t talkin’ to a goddamn human shrink_ ,” Jesse’s snarl was damn near feral and Gabriel recoiled.

“Why the fu—“ Gabriel snarled back before he caught himself and forced himself to calm down. He needed to be patient, as difficult as it was for him. He had problems with patience on a good day and being the morning after the full moon when he was running on about half an hour of sleep made his fuse even shorter. “Why not, Jesse?”

“I don’t need therapy, I need my freedom.”

Gabriel drew his lips tight, “Let me level with you.” Jesse opened his mouth, probably to protest, and Gabriel silenced him with a look and a wave of his hand. “I don’t know what you expect to happen now that I know about The Tragedy of Jesse McCree, but I’m not gonna tar and feather you for crying and I’m also not gonna treat you any different because I now know the details about why your life sucks.” He wanted a cigarette badly so he could use it to bide his time and think about what to say next, but Angela would have murdered him if he brought cigs into her infirmary. “The doc’s a war orphan, Agent Kumar’s entire hometown was decimated in the Crisis, they were one of five survivors. Damn near everyone you know has some sort of sob story in their past so it doesn’t make you special, and it _really_ doesn’t excuse your behavior.”

“I’ve been better,” Jesse cut in with a scowl.

“You nearly got yourself killed and escaped a high security military facility because you got, what, embarrassed that I understood what you were telling me? I’m not sure that’s the behavior of a man who’s been getting better,” Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “So Jesse, I’m gonna let you know this right here and now, we’ve all been through hell and back. Your hell might have been something that I will never fully comprehend, but it’s over. Deadlock’s gone, Blake Itou got a bullet in the brain, the people that hurt you are either dead or locked away in a facility where they’ll never see the light of day for the rest of their lives.”

There was silence as Gabriel and Jesse stared, unblinking, at each other.  After a minute Gabriel continued on, “And I’m gonna give you a choice, you can either buckle the fuck up and get therapy so you can finally heal and make something of your life, or you can run away, be haunted by ghosts that aren’t ever gonna go away for however long you manage to survive on your own.”

Jesse glared at Gabriel, “You wouldn’t understand.”

“No, Jesse, you’re right. I will _never_ understand what you went through, but I’m not even sure that _you_ fully understand what you went through. We have trauma specialists, they helped me, they helped Ana. Because just as much as I wouldn’t understand what you went through in Deadlock, _you’ll_ never understand what I went through during the Crisis or in the Enhancement Program,” Gabriel took a deep breath and paused. “They’ll help you understand that you’re not a curse, sometimes life just deals you a shit hand.”

“But I am a curse,” it was almost a breath, the words were so quiet. “Ain’t ever done nothin’ but destroy and get people hurt.”

“Look at me, kid,” Gabriel said softly. “That’s not the case, Fareeha loves you like the big brother she never had, the doc’s done nothing but defend you to me and Jack. And I can see potential, _worth_ , in you. What you need to do is talk to the doctors, maybe get on some medication. We’re not Deadlock, you already know that Blackwatch isn’t fun, games, hugs, and sending you off to the land of fucking rainbows and unicorns. We do bad shit, illegal shit, but we do it for the good of the world.” Gabriel ran a hand down his goatee, smoothing the hair, “We’re not here to see you fail, kid, and we’re not gonna laugh at you because you cry. Even I cry, for fuck’s sake.”

Jesse looked at Gabriel, all of his posturing and masks stripped away to reveal the sad nineteen year old kid that he was, “Even when you say that, it’s not like I can believe it. It’s been a year and I still can’t shake Deadlock.”

“I know, it’s gonna take time,” Gabriel said softly. “But the truth is, Deadlock’s done. The people who hurt you are locked up or dead. Ana’s said you’ve been better in training, that’s good. But you need to start getting this right,” with the backs of two fingers, he tapped Jesse’s forehead. “I’m gonna get you enrolled in therapy with a trauma specialist and you’re also gonna see a psychiatrist to see if you need to be put on any medication for PTSD, anxiety, or depression. You’ll have two weeks when you’re cleared of physical conditioning and training, and I want you to spend that focusing on trying to get better and talking to people who aren’t named Ana, Angela, or Fareeha.”

“I don’t know if I can,” Jesse muttered.

“You gotta push yourself. It’s gonna be hard, but believe me, it’s better for you than running away from everything,” Gabriel said, his voice was gentle, but firm as he spoke. “I’ve told you this countless times, Jesse, but take Blackwatch for the opportunity it is for you to do some good in the world. We won’t ever be recognized as heroes for what we do, pretty sure history will call us villains. But everything we do is to protect kids so they don’t lose their mom and dads to cruel people like Blake Itou.”

Jesse took a shaky breath and Gabriel watched as he gripped the thin hospital blanket between his hands tight, “...Yeah…”

“I’m sure Ana and Fareeha will be visiting you soon with a thicker blanket,” Gabriel stood up and patted Jesse’s shoulder a few times. “I need to go talk with Jack now, but Jesse, I’m expecting that you work with the therapists. I’ll be keeping a close eye on this as not just your commander, but someone who cares about you.”

Gabriel was nearly out the door when he heard Jesse whisper, “Thank you.”

Gabriel’s lips were tight and his throat felt thick as he swallowed, “Yeah,” he said softly and closed the door behind him.

He stood with the back of his head pressed against the cool wall for several long seconds. He hadn’t expected his talk with Jesse to go in that direction but… he felt better about it than he thought he would. Yet at the same time, he felt a bone deep sorrow for Jesse.

“Uncle Gabe?” Fareeha’s voice was hesitant. “Are you okay?”

“Hey kid,” Gabriel opened his eyes and forced a smile on his face. “I’m fine, it was just a long night.”

Fareeha gave him a look that was painfully reminiscent of her mother, “I’ll pretend to believe that. Can I come in and see Jesse?”

“Don’t bother him for too long, he needs to sleep, but I think he’d be happy to see you.”

“Did he really try to run away?” Fareeha’s voice was soft and she wrung the thick blanket between her hands nervously.

“Fareeha, Jesse is…” Gabriel trailed off, searching for words. “There’s a lot of things about him that we didn’t know, that he didn’t want us to know.”

“Is it about his parents?” Fareeha asked. “He told me about what happened to them a few weeks ago when mum was out and I stayed in his room.”

Gabriel blinked, surprised. He hadn’t realized Jesse had willingly told anyone about his past. He also hadn’t realized Fareeha was sneaking out of her room to stay with Jesse, but that was a discussion for another day. “Yeah, it’s about his parents and Deadlock. I’m having him talk to some people so he can start getting better.”

“I told him that he should talk to somebody about it,” Fareeha’s voice was quiet. “He said he’d think about it and changed the topic.”

“I’m gonna get him set up with a few people after I talk to Jack,” Gabe put a hand on her shoulder, significantly higher up than he remembered. The kid had gotten tall fast, it still surprised him each time he saw her. “You go spend some time with him and try to cheer him up, okay?”

Fareeha wrapped her arms around Gabriel, “I’m glad you’re better, Angie told me that you weren’t feral last night,” she said quietly, squeezing him tight.

Gabriel rubbed between her shoulder blades, “I’ll be able to get back to one hundred percent before you know it, kiddo.”

“You better so you can stop stealing mum from me,” Fareeha buried her face tighter against the crook of Gabriel’s neck.

Gabriel smiled and laughed softly, “Believe me, Fareeha, there’s nothing in the world I want more than getting back to my job.” He paused for a moment before saying, “Your mom told me you were getting bullied?”

Fareeha pulled away from Gabriel and frowned, “It’s fine now, I punched Elise K and it’s all over.”

“I thought she was your best friend?”

“She _changed_ , suddenly all she cared about was being popular. Middle school sucks, I’m glad I’m going to high school next month.”

“Hate to break it to you, but high school’s not much better,” Gabriel sighed. “Just promise that you’ll talk to me next time instead of getting in a fight.”

“I learned my lesson,” Fareeha made a face. “It’s not fair that I got in more trouble than Elise, though.”

“Life’s never fair,” Gabriel shrugged. “Promise me no more fighting and then you can go see Jesse,” he held out his little finger for Fareeha.

“I’m not a _kid_ , I don’t need to do pinky promises anymore,” Fareeha rolled her eyes but still wrapped hers around Gabriel’s.

“I’m a grown up and I still do them,” Gabriel shrugged again. “Now go see if you can cheer Jesse up a little while I go talk to Jack.”

Fareeha leaned up and kissed Gabriel’s cheek before backing off and opening the door to Jesse’s infirmary room. “Jesse?” He heard her say hesitantly before the door shut and all conversation was muted.

Gabriel sighed softly, he really wasn’t looking forward to his conversation with Jack. His rage had cooled after the talk with Jesse, but he knew that Jack would have no remorse for putting himself in danger the way he did.

He passed Ana on the way to see Jack, “Fareeha’s in with Jesse,” he mentioned, steps slowing. He briefly considered ratting on Fareeha’s sneaking out, but Ana was more likely to call him a narc more than anything else. Plus, there were worse things for both of the teens than Fareeha spending time with Jesse.

“Did she bring him the soup?” Ana asked.

Gabriel scratched at his beard as he thought, “I don’t think so, I just saw her carrying a blanket.”

“That child of mine,” Ana clicked her tongue.

“If you made your famous soup, mind bringing up an extra bowl for me?” Gabriel asked, nudging Ana slightly with an elbow.

“Are you sick?” Ana cocked a brow.

“I mean, you could count lycanthropy as an illness,” Gabriel shrugged. “I know you’ve got a massive pot of it boiling, spare a bowl for a poor, starving old man.”

“If you’re old, what am I?” Ana laughed. “I’ll have Fareeha drop a bowl off at your office later tonight.”

“You’re the best,” Gabriel started walking again.

“You’re getting a bowl Gabriel, one normal sized portion,” Ana called at him.

“We’ll see about that,” he muttered to himself as he walked away. If anything he could get Fareeha to sneak him a couple quarts of the soup because there was really nothing better than Ana’s soup.

Gabriel paused outside the door to Jack’s room in the infirmary. He could turn around and not deal with Jack. They had known each other for over fifteen years and the amount of times he had to chew Jack out for putting himself in danger… well Gabriel couldn’t even count at that point.

Before he could make himself back out, Gabriel forced his hand on the bioscanner. After a few seconds, the door unlocked and Athena said, “Come in, Commander Reyes.”

Gabriel closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and walked into Jack’s room. It wasn’t big, about the size of a small dorm room, but the bed was bigger than in Jesse’s room and a tv was switched on to the news.

“You know, usually if you’re in the infirmary, you’re supposed to leave the work at the door,” Gabriel said. Jack was laying in a hospital bed with a stack of paperwork on one side of him and he was busy typing into a tablet.

“I’m fine, they’re only keeping me here until they can take the stitches out in two hours and then make sure that I’m not gonna have to be locked up next to you in thirty days,” Jack didn’t even look up.

“You shouldn’t have gone out there,” Gabriel frowned. “You’re lucky that it’s only your pretty boy face that got ruined.”

“I took every precaution—“

“Then why is your face fucked, Morrison?” Gabriel snapped. “How many times have I told you to stop sacrificing yourself?”

“Newsflash, Gabe!” Jack scowled. “If you had gone out there, you probably would have torn McCree to pieces.”

“There were other solutions than you putting your life at risk. If he had bit you out of instinct…”

“What if’s don’t matter,” Jack frowned at Gabriel and set his tablet aside. “You weren’t feral for a portion of the night, but you slipped back into it after you got mad.”

“Because you—“

“Because I made you mad? McCree makes you mad, Gabe, and I can promise you that him trying to run away would have pissed you the fuck off. So don’t pull the ‘I could have handled it better than you’ bullshit with me,” the frown on Jack’s face twisted the nasty cuts.

“Jack, you’re not just Private Morrison anymore, disposable and replaceable. You’re the face of Overwatch, of hope for a generation, you can’t just put yourself in danger like this,” Gabriel exhaled loudly through his nose. “I get that you want to save the world at the expense of yourself, but you’re a super soldier, not an immortal. I’m proof enough of that.”

“Gabe,” Jack’s voice was quiet and gentle. “I knew the dangers, but we had no other choice. Yes, I could have let you go. But not only could _you_ have died, you could have hurt somebody.”

“Next time, don’t do something like that,” Gabriel said, knowing it was useless. “You act like you _want_ to die, the way you seem to have a sensor for getting into dangerous situations.”

“Like you don’t?” Jack raised an eyebrow and winced. “Forgot how much stitches suck.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Gabriel snorted. “Has it been that long since you’ve done any heavy lifting?”

“I’m the Strike Commander of Overwatch,” Jack rolled his eyes. “I’m supposed to sit and look pretty.”

“Those are gonna make that difficult,” Gabriel grinned.

“Wonder what the press would say if I said the truth on how I got them,” Jack rubbed at his stubble covered chin.

“Pretty sure they’d be asking to have you replaced as Strike Commander,” Gabriel replied and paused for a moment. “And about McCree…”

“What about him?” Jack asked.

“I’m enrolling him in therapy, a trauma specialist. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner—“

“Gabe, you’ve had more shit on your plate than any of us can count.”

“Yeah, but,” Gabriel paused and sighed. “I should have been more attentive.”

“Unless he wanted to, the kid wasn’t gonna work with a therapist,” Jack shrugged. “But it’s a good idea, from what he said last night, he’s a ball of traumatic memories.”

“Right, I’m also having him see a psychiatrist to get medicated. I’m no expert, but I can smell PTSD on him.”

“I think you and I could both be considered experts on PTSD at this point,” Jack said with a sigh. “But it’s a good idea.”

“I’ve been known to have them every once in a while,” Gabriel shrugged. “I’ll be keeping an eye on his progression with that. Hopefully, he’ll start going from inching forward to actually stepping forward.”

“We can hope,” Jack said, sighing.

“You know— he told Fareeha about his parents apparently.”

Jack scratched at his neck absentmindedly, “When?”

“When Ana was gone last, apparently. The kid snuck out to stay with McCree for the night.”

“You tell Ana?”

“Jack, last time I told her about some shit Fareeha pulled that was technically harmless, she called me a narc,” Gabriel said dryly. “Anyway, I figured that she could be doing worse shit than spending time with McCree, like doing heroin or something.”

“Jesse McCree, better than heroin,” Jack said with air quotes. “Sounds like the greatest PR campaign.”

“Fuck off, Indiana,” Gabe shook his head and laughed softly. “You know what I meant.”

“Yeah, and you’re not wrong,” Jack said with a sigh. “I still don’t like McCree, but Fareeha’s done almost nothing but berate me for that in the last few months. I can admit that he at least treats her and Angela well.”

“Well, hopefully he’ll start treating everyone better now that I’m getting him in therapy,” Gabriel smoothed down his goatee with a hand as he talked. “I just hope that this actually works.”

“You and me both,” Jack replied and reached for his tablet. “I need to get back to work, the UN requested a report on what our medical team has been spending so much money on in the past year.”

“Lovely, what’s the cover story?” Gabriel groaned.

“They’re researching ways to reverse changes to personality gained from traumatic brain injuries,” Jack raised an eyebrow. “Congrats, Gabe, you officially have had a few too many bumps to the head.”

Gabriel snorted, “I think the UN would agree with that if I told them I was a werewolf.”

Jack laughed, a booming sound in the quiet room, “Yeah, that wouldn’t be good. I mean we double down on it, I tell the truth about what happened and you show that nasty scar on your neck. What would they do? Take out two thirds of the main leadership of Overwatch?”

“I mean get McCree or me to bite Ana or something and then we’ve got all of the main leadership accounted for.”

“Obviously this is the best course of action, I’ll amend my report to let them know about you being an American Werewolf in Zurich,” Jack’s grin was wry.

“Damn right you should,” Gabriel laughed. “I’ll leave you to getting that done, though. Ping me if you need me.”

“Will do, Gabe. I’ll let you know if I’m planning on chasing another werewolf through the mountains.”

Gabriel raised a brow, “Do that, Jack, and you’re getting tackled by me. Also Ana made soup.”

“And she didn’t bring me any?” Jack squawked, indignant. “The fuck?”

Gabriel paused at the doorway and snorted, “Go ping her until she brings you a bowl.”

“I’m already on it,” Jack replied.

“Good,” Gabriel nodded. “That’ll teach her to make soup and not bring it to the two men who love it the most. Later, Indiana.”

“Bye, Gabe,” Jack waved as Gabriel walked out the door.

——

Hours later, the sun was setting and Gabriel was finishing up paperwork of his own. His hand ached from signing reports off. But he was nearly done, and he had a slice of pumpkin bread waiting for him when he finished. It wasn’t exactly the season for it, but Gabriel liked to have a loaf of pumpkin bread on hand.

He scratched as his jaw as he read through a mission report. Blaise and Dupont had been joined by Lane on what should have been a simple recon trip in New Mexico to scope out the remains of Deadlock and see if anyone had been trying to fill the shoes Deadlock had left empty.

It ended with a firefight ten miles out of Sante Fe and Blaise’s non-prosthetic arm ruined. Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose as he read on, they had no clue who the attackers were, and the weapons they were using were advanced military grade. Lane had theorized a connection to Talon, the tactics were similar. But there was no reason for Talon to be taking up residence in New Mexico of all places.

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh and pulled up a new document on his laptop. He was nearly back to being able to go on field missions and he wanted to lead his own investigation on the matter. He didn’t like the potential of Talon getting involved in the ruins of Deadlock.

“Athena, when Agent Blaise is out of surgery and a few days out of recovery, tell her to report to my office,” Gabriel said, standing up.

“Of course, Commander,” Athena replied. “Do you need to contact Agents Dupont or Lane?”

“No, I have their reports,” Blaise had been the one to get hit by the weapons, and she was a weapons expert. Gabriel wanted to see if she could give him a better description than Lane and Dupont had given.

Gabriel wasn’t done with paperwork, but he moved towards his kitchen anyway. He needed a break so he could think, and Fareeha would be coming with his soup shortly, so he figured he could munch on a slice of pumpkin bread while he waited and thought.

The Southwest was dangerous, Deadlock had been able to get such a stranglehold in it after the Crisis because the area was haunted by remnants of the war. Gabriel took a slow bite as he thought, if he could get Jesse field ready as well, the two of them could do some recon in the area, shifted. Jesse knew the territory and their shifted forms would give them better strength, speed, and stealth.

Of course, that was dependent on Gabriel being able to both shift at will and control himself when shifted. He paused his eating to slather more butter onto the bread, Talon was dangerous. They had just popped up within the past two years, but had already proven to be one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations that Overwatch had been dealing with. If they got their hands on him or Jesse…

He didn’t even want to think about the experiments Talon would run on them.

Gabriel took another bite of his pumpkin bread and as he chewed and a thought came into his mind. He could try shifting, he was alone in his apartment. He had nothing scheduled for the rest of the evening besides paperwork and Fareeha dropping off soup, so he could work on shifting.

Gabriel tried to shake the thought, tell himself that it was too dangerous. But as he finished up the slice of pumpkin bread, he found he couldn’t. If he was still shifted when Fareeha came, she could leave the soup outside his door. He could finish the paperwork later. It wasn’t like he had been able to shift at will before anyway.

Gabriel set the plate down in his sink and wrapped the pumpkin bread back up in aluminum foil before moving towards his living room. He pulled his shirt off and kicked off his pants and boxer briefs and focused on clearing his mind.

He wanted to think only about how it felt the previous night when he had been in control. How his body felt, how he looked. The power he felt in his limbs, how everything felt… right, almost.

For the longest time, nothing happened. Gabriel was just sat like a naked fool on his carpet. His limbs were still human, just like every other time he had tried to shift.

But then, nearly an hour after he started, something felt _different_. It was like something clicked in his mind and with his eyes shut, he felt his body start to change.

It wasn’t painful, he didn’t feel the burning pain of all of the bones in his body snapping and reforming. No, as his limbs shifted and twisted, it felt almost like he was stepping into warm, relaxing sunshine. He felt his limbs grow heavier and longer, felt the warmth of black fur sprouting from his skin, but it was comforting in its own way.

When Gabriel opened his eyes, it was out of something like instinct, knowing he was finished with the shift. He felt… good, better than good, actually.

Trying to stand up, Gabriel nearly lost his balance. He was too big, feet too different than he remembered.

“Okay, Reyes,” Gabriel murmured to himself. The words were garbled and half a growl. “Baby steps. You’re a four hundred pound wolf.”

He wanted to get to his closet so he could look at himself in the mirror, but traversing his apartment was difficult. “Athena, please notify Doctor Ziegler that I have shifted willingly and am in control of myself.”

“She has already been notified that you shifted, I’ll update the notification to let her know that it was willing and you are in control.”

“Thank you, Athena,” Gabriel said and stared at his next challenge. He had gotten through his living room, but the doorway stood in his way. He was almost too wide to fit through it and definitely too tall. He stared at it, ears twitching in annoyance before crouching down and turning sideways.

“Doctor Ziegler is en route with the Strike Commander and Agent McCree, they will be here in fifteen minutes,” Athena said as Gabriel was halfway through the door frame.

Gabriel’s ears twitched, “Let them in when they arrive.”

“Understood, Commander.”

Fifteen minutes, that would probably give him enough time to check out his appearance in the mirror and… Gabriel looked down to see a naked sheath and heavy hanging balls, check himself out and definitely put on some pants or at least a towel. He wished he had been wearing the specially made clothing that Jesse had been given that would accommodate his shifting forms.

The hallway to his bedroom felt cramped and small, he kept rubbing against the wall or hitting things he didn’t mean to because his size was so much more massive than he was used to. He nearly tripped over his own feet — paws, rather — as he walked multiple times. It was like he was constantly walking on his tiptoes, a strange and unnatural feeling.

But after a minute or two, he made it to his closet and he stared at himself in disbelief. “Maybe those dogs barking at themselves in the mirror are actually werewolves seeing themselves for the first time,” Gabriel laughed softly as he stared. He had seen himself in video recordings before, but seeing himself, full size, not in a recording was… sobering. With the recordings there was a sense of almost disconnect that he felt. But in the mirror, the giant wolf’s hands moved as he moved his.

Gabriel traced a claw around the white on his face, it almost reminded him of a skull. He had a few other patches of white fur, some on his neck and belly, and then a little on his arms, but other than that he was jet black.

He opened his mouth to inspect the sharp fangs. It was similar to a regular wolf’s mouth, but the teeth were all sharper, the canines much, _much_ larger. He closed his mouth and snarled at himself in the mirror to watch how his face contorted.

If he was being honest with himself, he looked fucking cool.

He flexed a little to watch how the fur shifted over muscles. God, it really was like being in the Enhancement Program again. He wouldn’t have considered himself a vain man, but when life gives you a sudden bulk up in muscles, it takes a much stronger man than Gabriel Reyes to be able to resist a little flexing and gawking. Even if he was a fucking goddamned wolf monster.

When he was done with his flexing, he reluctantly turned away from the mirror to scrounge around for either a pair of basketball shorts that would fit him or a towel. Fuck, he even would have settled for wrapping a sheet around himself.

None of his shorts fit him, the obnoxious tail of his to thank for that. So he sighed loudly through his nose and walked into his bathroom to find a towel large enough to wrap around his waist and something to cinch it together.

“Gabe?” He heard Jack’s rough voice call when he was in the middle of tying a large towel around his waist.

“I’m fine, Jack,” Gabriel called back. His words weren’t garbled anymore but they still had an unnaturally rough quality to them.

“Where are you?”

“I’m in my bathroom trying to put a towel on so you don’t have to look at my—“ he cut himself off, remembering that it was more than just Jack out there.

“I’m sending Jesse your way, please don’t send him back to my infirmary when he just got discharged,” Angela’s voice rang out.

“I’m in control,” Gabriel replied, rolling his eyes. He felt incredible, it was completely different than any time he had been shifted before.

“You ain’t gonna go feral, right?” Jesse’s voice was quiet as he stood in the doorway to Gabriel’s bedroom. He seemed so small, unshifted. Not that he was a small man, no Jesse was thick and muscular. But in comparison to Gabriel as he was? Jesse was tiny, breakable.

“No, I’m good. Better than good,” Gabriel turned around and ended up both hitting his head on the top of the door frame and running against the side of it with his too wide shoulders at the same time.

“Can you shift back?” Jesse asked, frowning slightly. “It’s why Morrison dragged me along.”

“Maybe?” Gabriel said slowly. “I’m not really… sure how to.”

“Then I’m gonna shift, you’ll need to watch my lead and shift back.”

Gabriel turned his head to give Jesse the privacy he needed as he shifted forms. “I didn’t realize how little it hurt when the shift was willing,” Gabriel said softly. He was treading new ground that Jesse had walked for a lifetime.

“It’s like comin’ home for me,” Jesse’s voice was equally as quiet. “When pa taught me…” he paused and Gabriel heard him swallow hard.

“Talk to me, Jesse,” Gabriel turned around to see a shifted Jesse. “You don’t have to keep this to yourself anymore.”

“It’s… it’s hard to talk about,” Jesse admitted. “But each time I shift, I remember pa teachin’ me and it just makes me remember when things were good.”

Gabriel didn’t know when he moved, just that he was suddenly at Jesse’s side and licking at his neck fur. It was an instinctual move to comfort, and Jesse let out a breath as Gabriel did it. After a moment, Gabriel looked  at him and said, “Things will be good again, Jesse.”

“I hope so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If your instinct when finally able to shift willingly and be in total control of yourself as you do it isn't to go check yourself out in the mirror, you're a fucking liar  
> \---  
> Follow me online @smalls2233 or [ on my nsfw twitter](https://twitter.com/smallsnsfw)!


	15. Chapter 14 -- 2056

Summer slowly made way to fall and the progress both Gabriel and Jesse made was bumpy and slow going. Gabriel was beginning to get a handle on shifting at will, but it was hit or miss. Some days he was able to shift quickly, others it took upwards of half an hour, and some he wasn’t able to shift at all.

The full moon was just as bad; he was able to stay lucid for bits and pieces of it, especially if he was able to shift before the moon rose in the sky. But inevitably something would set him off and his frame of mind would devolve back into ferality. Frustrating wasn’t a strong enough word for it.

“I want to explore this potential Talon situation,” Gabriel stared down the neck of a beer bottle as he talked to Jack, frown deep. “But I still haven’t been cleared for active duty.”

“Neither has McCree,” Jack raised an eyebrow and took a sip of beer.

Gabriel exhaled slowly from his nose, “He’s getting better at least.”

Doctor patient confidentiality didn’t exactly exist when it came to Jesse. Angela and Gabriel were both alerted to progress and could get specifics from the doctors about what Jesse had been discussing. Or rather, what he hadn’t been discussing for the first several weeks of the therapy.

Uncooperative was a word that could have been used to to describe Jesse’s first few sessions. When the therapist Gabriel had him assigned to, Doctor Osborne, had asked Jesse to tell her about some of his time with Deadlock, he had apparently shut down. Any further prodding had him digging sharpened claws into the dark wood of the chair he was sat in. That session had been dismissed early. And the following one. And the following one.

“Has he?” Jack asked.

Gabriel winced, “He’s been improving, it’s slow Jack. At the very least he’s tried talking to more people in Blackwatch and has been better about following orders.”

Jack sat down the bottle of beer to grab a handful of chips and slowly munch on them, “He’s not field ready yet, though. If it’s Talon kicking up dust down there…” he trailed off.

“If it’s Talon kicking up dust down there, I need to be there,” Gabriel said firmly. “I don’t know if it is or isn’t, but someone is filling the hole Deadlock left and unless werewolves can raise from the dead, I don’t think it’s Deadlock.”

“I’m giving you until March, Gabe,” Jack said and chomped on a few more chips. The loud crunching filled the silence for a moment before he swallowed and said, “That’ll mark two years since everything happened. If you can’t get McCree under control and…” he trailed off for a moment, “and if you can’t get full control. Look, I don’t want to say this.”

Gabriel’s jaw clenched, “Say what, Jack?”

“We’d need to start looking into an actual replacement for you,” the words came out fast in a single breath.

It felt like all of the air had been kicked out of Gabriel. He knew something like that could have happened, that replacing him if he couldn’t be field ready was an option. But hearing it aloud felt too real, too permanent. “Yeah.”

“Gabe don’t do this.”

“Do what, Jack?”

Jack frowned, “You’re closing off, I can see it in your eyes. I don’t want to have to do this, but Blackwatch needs a commander who can go on the field with them.”

Gabriel exhaled loudly and slowly, “I know. If this were anywhere else I’d have been given the boot immediately but… it just. God, fuck I don’t know, Jack. I keep telling myself I’ll get better, I keep getting so close, but then,” he clenched his fist and slammed it on the table, rattling the empty glass bottles and half filled ones. “It just gets bad again.”

“I know,” Jack’s rough voice was soft. “The UN has been asking about you, about why Ana has been taking control of Blackwatch operations for the time being along with her Overwatch duties.”

“The UN could go fuck themselves for all I care,” Gabriel scowled and blinked away the tears that had been threatening to form. “Don’t even know why they’re asking about Blackwatch, the vultures need to stay away from it.”

Jack sighed, “I keep trying. I’ve been reminding them that Blackwatch isn’t under the UN and that you don’t have to answer to them. Secretary Cameron has been demanding you stand in front of the UN yourself. I politely told him to go fuck himself.”

“Those words or more politicy ones, boy scout?” Gabriel cocked an eyebrow.

“What do you think?” Jack snorted and took a long sip of his beer. “You know, when I signed up for the army all I wanted to do--”

“Was get out of Indiana, not deal with politics,” Gabriel finished for him. “Believe me, Jack, you’ve told me enough.”

“Right, well point being the UN is the fucking worst and they’re trying to vulture around Blackwatch,” Jack rolled his eyes. “No matter how much Ana and I remind them that only Overwatch proper is under UN oversight — that they fucking _asked_ to be kept in the dark about Blackwatch — they just keep asking.”

Gabriel exhaled sharply through his nose and scowled, “I’ll stand in front of them alright, but it’ll be to shove documents that Secretary Cameron himself signed saying that Blackwatch was made without permission or oversight by the UN.”

“You know you do that and they’ll still hold you there to tear you apart for this and that,” Jack said and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Overwatch would be run so much better if the UN just stayed out of it and let us just do whatever we needed.”

“If only,” Gabriel closed his eyes. “Wonder what they’d do if I just shifted in front of them? Lock me up or shit themselves?”

“Probably demand to know why we weren’t experimenting on you or why we haven’t killed you yet,” Jack shrugged. He let out a hissing sigh, “I’ll keep stalling for you, but Gabe, everything needs to come together much sooner rather than later.”

“I— I’m trying Jack.”

Jack’s lips were thin and tight as he looked at Gabriel, “Believe me, Gabe, I know.” He was silent for a moment, “Hey, look, I’ve been wanting to say—“ he broke off and looked away from Gabriel, tips of his ears pink. “I really—“ he broke off again and then finally shook his head and frowned. “I don’t know what I’d do without you here beside me. It’s, it’s just— you know. We’ve been doing this together since I joined the fucking SEP, and I just can’t imagine doing this without you.”

Jack still looked like he had more to say, so Gabriel waited, but he said nothing. So after a moment Gabriel softly replied, “I don’t want to leave.”

Gabriel pulled up a mental calendar in his mind, it was the tenth of October, he had less than half a year to learn to fully control himself. Less than half a year with rut scheduled to hit in the next week.

Gabriel clenched his jaw as he thought, rut threw a wrench in, well, everything. The complete loss of control he had felt his first time had never lessened in the two other ruts he had experienced since. It was goddamned humiliating, he had experienced side effects similar to it with the SEP, and the monitoring wasn’t anything new, neither was a loss of control. Yet the way he was aware of everything, how he could remember every detail, it was some special type of hell.

Jack clinked the neck of his bottle of beer against Gabriel’s, “I believe in you.”

——

“So what’s rut like?” Fareeha asked as she rummaged around a plastic box. “I asked Angie about it and she blushed and wouldn’t tell me.”

“Uh,” Jesse stared at her in shock. “You’re like ten I ain’t tellin’ you about rut.”

“Okay one, I’m fourteen, two, I read a _ton_ of fanfiction so I know what sex is, third, what color do you want?”

One, you’re still four years too young, two, you’re a goddamned nerd Fareeha Amari, three, what now?”

Fareeha rolled her eyes, “For your claws, what color?”

“Gold I guess?” Jesse scratched at his scraggly attempts at growing a beard. “Why claws though?”

“Because they’d look cute painted,” Fareeha shrugged at him. “But seriously, Angie’s been going crazy preparing med tests and everything for you with rut, what’s the big deal?”

Jesse’s face was beet red, “Go search online yourself if you want to know that badly. It’s embarrassing, Amari.”

“I’m just curious about it,” Fareeha grabbed a few bottles of nail polish out of her box. “Which shade of gold do you want? Or if you want to do this black gel polish we could do gold powder on it.”

“Uh, the gold powder I guess?” Jesse said. “Will it hurt?”

Fareeha laughed, “It’s nail polish, Jesse, I paint mine and my friends’ all the time, see?” She held out her hand and showed Jesse her nails.

“They look like beetles,” Jesse said, watching the way the colors shifted in the light.

“That’s not nice to say to a lady,” Fareeha frowned. “How are you ever gonna catch uncle Gabe if you’re this unromantic?”

“Okay one, I ain’t after Reyes, we established that ages back,” Jesse let go of her hand. “Two, I’m just sayin’ the truth.”

“Boys,” Fareeha shook her head in disappointment. “Go shift so I can paint your claws — also I wanna braid your fur, I have some beads that would look cute.”

“I’m not cute, I’m dangerous and manly.”

Fareeha grabbed his face and stared at it, “Sorry to break it to you, Jesse, but human or dog, you’re cute. Mum’s mentioned it, said you’ve filled out from the skinny kid you were and are pretty handsome now. I think she wants you to date Angie.”

Jesse made a face, “I’d fu— uh I wouldn’t date her.”

“That’s what I told her,” Fareeha patted the side of Jesse’s face before letting go. “I told her about your thing for un—“

“You _what now_?” Jesse squawked. “Fareeha, listen, I know you and Angie are convinced that I’ve got a b— that I have a thing for Reyes. But I don’t, he’s my boss and I ain’t even really sure where we stand to each other.”

“Mum told me that I should mind my own business and stop trying to play matchmaker, what a hypocrite,” Fareeha rolled her eyes. “But seriously, go and shift so I can paint your claws. I need to grab the stuff to cure the gel polish.”

“Am I gonna regret letting you do this?” Jesse stood up from the table and stripped from his shirt and toed off his slippers. “Because I’m startin’ to be afraid that you’re gonna take this opportunity to dye my fur purple or something.”

“Nah, but you _would_ be really cute with a couple streaks of color.”

“Again, I ain’t cute, I’m a deadly beast made to prey on humans like you. Though, you wouldn’t taste good, too lean, not enough fat.”

“You wouldn’t eat people,” Fareeha gasped, staring at him.

“Nah,” Jesse closed his eyes and focused on the shift. “Only the real bad wolves do that, even Deadlock didn’t let us eat people.”

Fareeha was silent and Jesse peeked open an eye, “What are you plannin’, Amari?”

“What if you made me a werewolf?” Fareeha said slowly.

Jesse chuckled nervously, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Not now, obviously,” Fareeha replies. “But in four years I’m an adult, mum can’t say no. Angie’s been doing research on different types of supernaturals and I think she managed to get some grimoires she won’t let me look at.”

That was a surprise for Jesse, “She what now? Wait, no, you’re not changing the subject here. Why do you want to be a werewolf?”

“Because it’s _cool_ , you’re strong and powerful. Mum doesn’t want me doing anything like that, she keeps telling me no when I say I want to join the army. Think how many people I could protect if I was a werewolf.”

“I don’t want to be the fun police, Fareeha, but no. Not all wolves struggle like Reyes, but it’s dangerous. Some people don’t survive their first shift, I ain’t gonna put you at risk of that.”

“It’s my choice.”

“It’s _not_ ,” Jesse snapped, thoughts of shifting gone. “Think of how I’d feel if something happened to you because I bit you? Or how your mom would feel if you died? Or Morrison, or Reyes, or Angie. In Deadl—“ he paused, still wary of telling anyone about Deadlock. “In Deadlock, it took months for a human to be bit, they had to prove that they could handle it. Adult humans, minimum twenty one. Pa was, pa was one of the youngest to be turned. I am _not_ biting you.”

Fareeha puffed up, “I’m not asking to be bit now, but when I’m an adult I know that I’ll be responsible enough—“

“You think you’ll be responsible enough to make those decisions when you’re eighteen?” Jesse barked out a harsh laugh. “Do you think you magically get gifted the wisdom of the ancients when you’re legally an adult?”

“No, but—“

“There’s no buts, Fareeha. I ain’t turning you, I refuse to put you or anyone else in that sort of danger.”

There were angry tears in Fareeha’s eyes as she stared at Jesse and screeched, “ _Then why did you bite Uncle Gabe_?”

Jesse stared at her, shock and horror playing on his face and shame burning deep in his gut. Like he hadn’t been beating himself up over it internally for the past year when he had finally begun to realize what he had done was wrong, like his therapist hadn’t even begun to be able to crack into his guilt over it.

“Jesse— wait, I didn’t mean it,” Fareeha’s face fell as she realized what she said.

“You’re right,” the words were a breathless whisper. “I put everyone in danger and I— I—“ hot tears welled in his eyes and his chest heaved as all of the guilt he had carried on his shoulders for the past year and a half crashed down upon him in a crushing weight.

Vision clouded by tears and blood pounding in his ears Jesse shook off Fareeha’s hand that came to rest on his shoulder. “I need to go,” the sounds stumbled together as they came out of his mouth, and he wasn’t sure if he had spoken words or just made barking yips. He wasn’t sure if anything as he took shaky steps out of his room. Not sure of why he was leaving nor where he was going.

He ignored as Fareeha called after him, ignored as she pulled at his arm before giving up. Guilt tore at the inside of his chest as he stumbled down the halls on instinct before stopping in front of a door.

——

“I’ve been going through the Deadlock records and there’s some things that don’t add up,” Dupont stood in front of Gabriel’s desk and handed over a file folder. “With the potential of Talon moving in, I wanted to reopen the records and see what they could be interested in, but honestly I just have more questions now.”

Gabriel rubbed at his beard as he opened the folder, “What kind of questions?”

“They weren’t just trafficking weapons, someone in the Santos family was making routine stops in Mexico carrying some type of genetic material.”

“Los Muertos?” Gabriel guessed and flicked through papers.

“That’s my guess, I’d like permission for Lane and I to gain access to Oscar Santos and see if he knows what was going on with that,” Dupont dragged a hand through his hair and sighed. “I asked McCree and he honestly knew nothing about it— they kept him away from any dealings with the Santos family.”

“Permission granted, he’s in a special type of holding cell we’ve devised down at the Grand Mesa watchpoint,” Gabriel nodded. He didn’t like what he was reading, there were no clear details what the genetic material was, just single letters. But whatever Los Muertos had been getting, it had been in shipments of ten once a month for a decade.

“Have you figured out what these letters stand for?” Gabriel ran a finger down the list. Lots of wWs, some B’s, and a couple L’s were interspersed with others.

“No, nothing concrete yet,” Dupont shook his head. “But I think that Liv has some type of theory.”

“What’s Blaise’s theory?”

“She and I were reading through this the other day trying to make heads or tails of it, and she caught on to the number of W’s in there, and if you look there’s B’s and the Bo’s. We have no proof, but she thinks that it might be the genetic material of different werebeasts.”

“Werewolf is obvious. What starts with B, werebird? No,” Gabriel shook his head. “Bear maybe? Bo could be… wereboar?”

“That’s her thoughts. I think the L might be werelion,” Dupont nodded. “But what I don’t get is how they could have gotten that, I asked McCree and he said Deadlock was werewolves and humans, that’s it.”

“Why would Los Muertos want this?” Gabriel mused. “Keep looking into it and I’ll—“ Gabriel’s phone buzzed with texts and he looked down. They were all from Fareeha. He frowned and shut the folder as he read through them.

_15:25 Fareeha: I screwed up_

_Fareeha: I was teasing jesse and then things got serious & i got angry & said something tht upset him _

_Fareeha: Uncle gabe what do i do???_

_Fareeha: what if he hates me???_

“Hold on, something happened with McCree,” Gabriel said and quickly texted her back.

_15:30 Gabriel: What did u say to him?_

_15:30 Fareeha: I wanted him to bite me when i turn 18 & we argued abt it bc he didnt want to put me in danger and i got rly angry and asked him why he bit you then. Like *obvi* i didnt mean it but i said it & rly hurt him hfjakdhdkajdjd idk what to do bc he wasnt listening to me and he just walked off somewhere. _

_Fareeha: What should i do????_

_Fareeha: I didnt mean to hurt him_

_Fareeha: He’s my best friend_

Gabriel rubbed at his goatee and winced as he read the texts. Fareeha had fucked up but—

_15:32 Gabriel: Fareeha calm down._

_Gabriel: I don’t think that he hates u._

Gabriel was in the middle of typing another text when Athena announced, “Agent McCree is at your door, Commander.”

“Let him in,” Gabriel said slowly as he sent Fareeha one last text for the moment. “Might want to take this as your dismissal, Dupont, get headed to Grand Mesa with Lane and I’ll get your permissions ready.”

“Understood, thank you, Commander.”

_Gabriel: He’s @ my door. I’ll talk to him._

Gabriel locked his phone and stood up as the door slid open and Jesse stumbled into the room. The kid’s face was streaked with tears and his eyes were red. Dupont slid out behind him with a sympathetic look.

“Jesse—“ Gabriel started.

Jesse’s crying intensified into ugly sobs as he stared at Gabriel.

“Hey— hey, Jesse, it’s okay,” Gabriel’s mind went into panic as Jesse stared at him. Without thinking, he wrapped the kid in his arms and squeezed tight in an attempt to comfort him. “Calm down, Jesse.”

“I hurt you— I put you and everybody around you in danger,” Jesse sobbed, arms hanging limply at his sides. “I— I—“

Gabriel’s chest tightened, “Jesse, it’s okay. Come on, it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine,” Jesse’s voice was a rough whisper. “I ruined everything for you and I’ve been nothin’ but nasty and mean and hurtful to goddamn near everyone and I just—“ he broke off into whimpers and yips, the sounds of a wolf more than that of a human and strangely Gabriel found that he could understand the sounds.

It wasn’t that they translated into any human words, but the emotions behind them, their sentiments were loud and clear in Gabriel’s mind, clearer than any human speech. Heartache, grief, guilt washed over him, strong enough that Gabriel felt like he could cry.

Gabriel brought a hand to Jesse’s hair and stroked the much longer than regulation brown hair in an attempt at comfort. “It’s fine, it’s fine,” Gabriel repeated as he continued to stroke Jesse’s hair. Jesse wrapped his arms around Gabriel tightly and buried his head into the crook of Gabriel’s neck, the same side that he had bitten nearly two years ago, as he cried hot tears.

“I don’t blame you, I don’t hate you,” said Gabriel. He didn’t want to tell Jesse of the expiration date he had, that if he didn’t get full control in five months he’d be out. He didn’t want Jesse to carry that weight on top of the initial guilt. He didn’t deserve that.

“Don’t make it not my fault,” Jesse’s voice was thick. “I fucked up.”

Gabriel let Jesse pull off of him and wipe at his eyes with a bare wrist. At that moment, he realized that Jesse was shirtless. Immediately, Gabriel stripped from his hoodie, “Put this on while I get you a tissue.”

The hoodie was surprisingly tight on Jesse, Gabriel hadn’t noticed how broad he had gotten in the year and a half he had been in Blackwatch. Gabriel forced himself to look away as he rummaged through a drawer to find an unopened pack of tissues.

“Here,” Gabriel found a pack next to an unopened bag of suckers Reinhardt had given him after his last trip to the states on vacation. Gabriel had appreciated the sentiment, but he rarely ate candy, so the bag sat unopened until that moment. “Catch these,” he tossed the tissues and a cherry flavored sucker to Jesse.

“You wanna tell me why you came bawling into my office shirtless?” Gabriel asked slowly as Jesse blew his nose loudly and wiped at his eyes.

“I got in a fight with Fareeha,” Jesse’s jaw was stiff and he wasn’t looking Gabriel in the eyes as he spoke. “She— I got upset and just kinda walked here.”

“You wanna talk about it?” Gabriel sat down on his desk and pulled out another sucker from the bag and slowly unwrapped it.

“Not really,” Jesse sat down on the floor and put his head between his knees. He sniffed loudly and wiped his eyes again. “She probably thinks I’m a fuckin’ idiot for runnin’ out the way I did.”

Gabriel put the sucker in his mouth and winced, too sweet. “I think she probably feels pretty bad about it too,” he wrapped the sucker back up with its wrapper and tossed it into the trash before grabbing his water bottle and guzzling it to get the artificial orange flavor out of his mouth. “I don’t know what she said, but I don’t think she meant to hurt you.”

“I know that,” Jesse snapped. “That’s what makes it worse.”

“Hey, hey,” Gabriel replied. “That doesn’t make it okay, you gotta talk to her instead of both of you going through me. Mind if I light a cigarette?”

“Could I get one?” Jesse peeked his head up.

Gabriel tossed him a cigarette and his lighter as an answer after lighting his own cigarette. He took a deep drag and sighed.

“Why was Dupont here?” Jesse rubbed the last of his tears away with Gabriel’s jacket. His voice was still rough from crying.

“You know how there’s movement in former Deadlock territory?” Gabriel asked and when he got a nod from Jesse he continued, “He’s been running through records to try and see if he could figure out either who’s been doing it or why it’s happening. He came across something strange and wanted to run it by me.”

“He was askin’ me about this stuff the other day,” Jesse frowned and puffed on the cigarette. His eyes were still puffy and red, but they were clearer and his voice was firm. “Deadlock was just wolves and I’m not sure why the vamps would have wanted werebeast genetic shit.”

“What do vamps think of werewolves?” Gabriel opened the file again and flicked the cigarette onto his ashtray.

“Deadlock working with Los Muertos is weird,” Jesse shrugged. “Vamps tend to keep to themselves, don’t interact much with other supernaturals and it ain’t like you can mix the types. I think the most that would happen if a wolf got vamp blood in them they’d just get really sick, maybe their throat would burn for a bit, but it wouldn’t take.”

“And if a werewolf bit a vamp?” Gabriel circled a few of the shipments in red ink.

“Nothin’ would happen,” Jesse shrugged. “We’re living creatures but vamps are somethin’ else, their hearts don’t beat, sometimes they can look alive if they’ve fed recently, but yeah, just flat out nothin’ would happen.”

“So then why do vamps want genetic material,” Gabriel tapped the back of his pen against his teeth.

“What does it say next to shipment location?” Jesse asked. “There should be a code.”

“T0-94B for half of them,” Gabriel read off. “The rest are T0-94A.”

“That ain’t Los Muertos,” Jesse shook his head. “Dunno who it is, but that ain’t the code for the vamps.”

“Would your uncle Oscar know about it?”

Jesse flinched, “Why?”

“Dupont and Lane are headed to Grand Mesa to interrogate him and figure out what’s going on here. If he might know then I want the two of them to ask,” Gabriel shrugged and turned on a holoscreen.

“He could, I think he mostly covered dealins with Europe and Asia though. Rob Santos covered the Americas.”

“And Rob Santos got a bullet to the brain,” Gabriel sighed. “Does rut still affect wolves at Oscar’s age?” Gabriel asked, the man was pushing sixty.

“Wolves live longer than humans, especially born wolves,” Jesse shrugged. “He’s at the edge of his rut years, but yeah it’ll still affect him.”

“And we’re scheduled to be sequestered away tomorrow,” Gabriel looked at the calendar that was in the corner of his screen. “You think rut’ll affect anything with him today?”

“Naw,” Jesse shook his head. “Lane and Dupont’ll be fine, I wish I could be more help but I just— Deadlock didn’t—“ he took a wet, shaky breath and clenched his fist. “The only good I was to Deadlock was I shot well and I served as a warnin’ to all their bit wolves that no one was safe if they betrayed the pack. I didn’t learn about half the missions, I didn’t learn about damn near anything.” Jesse’s cigarette has burnt to the filter and he squashed it against an ashtray Gabriel had slid to him.

“Will you be okay if you and I go on a mission in old Deadlock territory?” Gabriel asked. “Be honest with me.”

“I’ll be fine,” Jesse put his head back between his knees and unwrapped the cherry sucker. Loud crunching filled the silence as he nervously chewed. “It— it’s hard but I don't know, maybe finally seeing those ghosts laid to rest would help.”

Gabriel’s phone buzzed with another text.

_16:15 Ana: What’s this that Fareeha’s saying about Jesse?_

_Gabriel: She upset Jesse and he came crying into my office. I think hes fine now, but she seemed pretty upset herself._

_Ana: Define ‘fine’._

_Gabriel: Hes chewing on a sucker. Ill send him back to his room soon and see if I can get Fareeha to apologize._

_Ana: That daughter of mine means well, but sometimes…_

_Gabriel: Dont chew her out too hard, shes upset about it too._

_Ana: I know, she needs to think before she speaks sometimes_.

Gabriel locked his phone again. “Who was that?” Jesse asked.

“Ana, Fareeha feels bad. You should maybe go let her apologize to you, bet she’ll try bribing you with food and I smelled Ana cooking baklava last night,” Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “I’m not one for sweets but even I don’t turn down her family’s baklava recipe.”

“I overreacted it’s not her fault,” Jesse looked down.

“Let her apologize to you,” Gabriel said and typed out a short message to Dupont on what Jesse had told him about Deadlock before sending that and the permissions to interrogate former Deadlock members. “And if she offers Ana’s cooking, take some extras for me.”

That got a laugh out of Jesse, “Is this some way of you stealin’ the captain’s cooking?”

“Nah, it’s me taking a taxation for my good advice,” Gabriel grinned at him. “Now get going, McCree, and if you think of anything else about this, let me know. I’ll forward you a copy of the files.”

Jesse stood up with a nod. When he was halfway out the door he asked, “What about your hoodie, Reyes?”

“Keep it, I have others,” Gabriel shrugged. “You probably stretched it out anyway, you’ve become a fucking brick wall, McCree

“Right, well, thank you, sir,” Jesse ran a hand through his hair as he stalled in the doorway. “For— for everythin’ you’ve done.”

Gabriel closed his eyes and whispered, “You deserve all of it, Jesse.” He didn’t know what would happen in the next five months, if he would be able to gain control. But as he stared at Jesse’s strong frame leaving his office, as he recalled the way Jesse had hugged him back and sobbed, Gabriel did know that the way he felt about Jesse was far more complex than friendship of that a boss should feel for a subordinate.

As the door shut behind Jesse, Gabriel let out a deep sigh as he realized how completely fucked he was.


	16. Chapter 15 -- 2056

Pleasant and rut were two words that Gabriel thought would never go together well, especially not when he was face down on the floor of his containment cell, clothes absolutely soaked with sweat. At least during the full moon, he was able to take paperwork with him and get some progress done. During rut? He was lucky if he didn’t chafe his goddamned dick by the end of the few days.

But the worst part of all was how early it had sprung. He had thought rut wouldn’t hit for a few more days, but as soon as he had arrived back at his townhouse after talking with Jesse, the telltale signs of rut crashed into him like a freight train. It had taken enough tranquilizers to kill a herd of elephants and a fully shifted Jesse in order to drag his rut addled body to the containment room.

Every single noise was amplified to him, even more than usual. The beating of his heart was like drumming in his ears, every breath a yell, he swore he could even hear his muscles work as he tried to move himself off of the floor and to strip himself free of his clothes. But worse than his own sounds were the sounds of Jesse in the adjacent cell. 

The feral side of his brain wanted to beat down the door, tear apart the walls separating him from the boy and fuck him into the ground. Maybe that would satisfy the need within him, cool down his burning skin. Every noise from Jesse just made that awful, feral side of his brain scream even louder, especially since he could still smell Jesse’s scent on him, the shed fur on his clothes absolutely reeking with the scent of the other werewolf.

With a rut addled mind, there was no denying the side of himself that wanted Jesse. No matter how much Gabriel Reyes, the (mostly) sane commander of Blackwatch could try and separate any unprofessional feelings, Gabriel Reyes, the wolf, was entirely focused on get, claim, fuck.

Hating himself the entire time, Gabriel reached down into his pants to try and calm the burning fire within him.

The next several days were going to be hell.

——

“I don’t know what could have caused this,” Jesse stared at a holoscreen, into the faces of Morrison, Ana, Angela, and — unfortunately — Moira, trying to ignore the faint sounds of Gabriel jerking off from the next cell. “Maybe because of SEP his biology’s weird and rut doesn’t hit him at the same time as it does me and other wolves or maybe this is just some fluke that won’t happen again.”

“This is why Moira’s here,” Ana said, typing a few things into a laptop. “Before rut hits, she’s going to take some genetic samples from you so she can analyze and compare you and Gabriel to see if anything is wrong.”

Jesse scowled, “I don’t want her fucking with this shit no more. She caused nothing but problems and I don’t want more humans messing with me.”

“Doctor O’Deorain is the top in her field and if there’s something wrong with Gabe, she’ll be the one to understand why with you as a control,” Morrison had his asshole face on and Jesse’s scowl only deepened.

“Fat lot of help she was back when she was in charge of Reyes. Pretty sure whatever shit she was doin’ to try and reverse the shift was what was making him worse.”

“ _ McCree _ —”

The quack held up a hand, “I can handle this, Jack.” Nobody made a move to correct her on not using titles with her superior officer. “I’m not in charge of Gabriel, Jesse. What I’m in charge of now is making sure he’s not a ticking time bomb that’s going to explode on base.” The look in her eyes was cold and her expression was unnervingly calm. Her entire presence was even more chilling over the video call than it was in person and Jesse just wanted her gone. He still wasn’t a fan of Morrison, but at least he was comfortable with Angela and Ana. Fuck, he would have gladly become goddamned mates with Morrison if it meant he could just avoid Moira for the rest of his life. The way she looked at him, like he was a beast to be studied, just set him on edge.

“Just because rut hit him early don’t mean he’s gonna explode,” Jesse muttered. “I ain’t an expert on everything werewolf and so maybe I just don’t know reasons why rut gets triggered early. Sending in the nukes is an overreaction.”

Moira gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, “Angela will be in your cell in five minutes to collect a genetic sample from you, Jesse. Make this easier for all of us and comply.”

Before Jesse could bark out an indignant response, the video call ended and Jesse was left staring at a blank holoscreen. 

“Angie, don’t do this,” Jesse gave Angela his most pitiful look possible when she walked into the room, five minutes later on the dot. “I don’t want her messing with wolf stuff again.”

“Don’t, Jesse,” Angela said, setting a small briefcase down on one of the tables in the room. “Whether or not you like it, she’s pretty much the top geneticist in the world. Maybe her approach before wasn’t working, but we need to make sure that whatever happened to Gabriel isn’t the sign of something worse to come.”

“I don’t trust her.”

“You don’t trust any human that’s not Ana, Fareeha, or me,” Angela flipped open her briefcase and revealed a set of tools. Jesse eyed the scalpels and needles cautiously. “Look, I get it, she’s creepy and a bitch, but she’s good at what she does.”

“Apparently not good enough to have not set Reyes’ progress back when she was in charge of him.”

Angela shot Jesse a look and slammed a hand down on the table. “I understand that you don’t like her, I understand that you don’t trust her, but god dammit, she’s not your enemy. All of us here are just trying to make sure that neither you or Gabriel end up six feet under because of something we could have prevented.”

“His rut hit early, it’s not the end of the fuckin’ world.”

“Any sort of illness or irregularity with him or Jack have always been evaluated immediately because of SEP,” Angela’s voice was frustrated as she pulled out a small vial and a packet. “Moira or somebody working under her has been the one in charge of making sure their genes aren’t working against them since the day she was hired into Overwatch.”

Jesse slammed a fist against the wall, feeling the steel quiver under the force of impact. “I ain’t letting her have any more info on werewolves.”

“Jesse.”

“I told you before, she’s a human fucking with things that she doesn’t understand.”

“And if you’d cooperate, maybe I’d start to understand.” Jesse’s heart sank as Moira’s voice rang out in the cell.

“I ain’t cooperating,” Jesse’s lips curled up, baring teeth that were beginning to shift into fangs. “I don’t want humans fucking with the genetics of werewolves.”

“It really doesn’t matter what you want. There’s orders from your higher ups — that would be the Strike Commander — that I return to my research on Gabriel thanks to my history of monitoring his and Jack’s reactions to the Enhancement Program.” Jesse really,  _ really _ hated the cold look in her eyes. It was like she saw him as nothing more than a test rat, something to gather genetic information from and toss away as soon as he was out of use. He hated it.

“Go fuck y—”

“Either you cooperate with me, or I will tranquilize you.”

“Hey Angie, go tell her to fuck herself since she won’t listen to me,” Jesse turned his head and sneered at an uncomfortable looking Angela.

“Don’t do this, Jesse. Just cooperate with her, she’s not here to hurt you or Gabriel.”

“I ain’t cooperating with  _ her _ ,” Jesse’s sneer turned into a scowl. “I ain’t letting no human but you mess with my med—”

Before he could finish his thought, a needle was jammed deep into his shoulder and the world spun before turning black.

—

Rut ended for Jesse with a cramped hand, a sore ass, and patches of skin missing from his arms thanks to the good doctor. His nest, which consisted of some blankets Ana and Fareeha had given him, pillows and blankets from the containment cell, and the hoodie Reyes had lent him, was a disgusting mess in desperate need of being laundered maybe twenty times. He wasn’t sure why the hoodie had made its way into the nest, but it was damn near the top of the pile and absolutely disgusting. The entire thing reeked of rut pheromones.

What Jesse really wanted was a hot shower and some water, but of course there was protocol to go through first.

Slamming a fist against a button on the wall, Jesse grunted, “Can I leave yet?”

“Your biometrics still haven’t returned back to normal, you’ll need to wait for another half hour,” Angela’s voice rang over the intercom system.

“Angie, I can promise you that I know my own body, rut’s done and all I really want right now is a shower and some clothes that aren’t covered in cum and lube.” It’s not like his protesting was gonna do anything, Overwatch was made of almost entirely red tape and trying to argue with it was like slamming his head into a brick wall to get past it.

“It’s for everybody’s safety, Jess—”

“You can’t have a hormonal wolf running around I know, but rut’s done with and I want to check in with Dupont and Lane, see what they learned from Oscar. After I get a shower.”

Silence filled the room, “You haven’t heard yet, have you?”

Dread filled Jesse’s stomach, “What happened?”

“When being transported to another containment cell for rut at Grand Mesa, he escaped, killing ten guards. Dupont and Lane are at the Watchpoint monitoring the situation and trying to track him down.”

——

As soon as rut came to an end, Gabriel was whisked straight to Moira’s lab with next to no explanation as to why. Any attempts at asking questions had been ignored by her and her assistants as they wordlessly strapped him up to numerous machines.

“You reek, Gabriel,” Moira said as she slid an iv catheter into a vein.

“Maybe spending several days doing nothing but jerking off without a shower would do that to a man. You gonna explain what you’re doing now?” Moira ignored him, because of course she did, and turned to another machine, writing down a few readings and adjusting a few dials. 

“The cowboy should be arriving soon and then we can take a few more samples from the two of you,” Moira said, evaluating the readings of another machine.

“Samples for what, Moira? I’m getting real tired of asking.”

“Rut sprang early, as I’ve done many times in the past for both you and Jack, I’m making sure that there’s not something seriously wrong with you.” Moira sounded annoyed at having to explain herself, but Gabriel still wasn’t satisfied.

“Rut came early, do you check yourself into the hospital each time your period comes early? Seriously, Moira, this is an overreaction,” Gabriel frowned.

“You sound just like your little favorite when I came to take a genetic sample from him,” Moira gave him a dry look and turned around with a scalpel and a petri dish. “Now will you shut up and let me work or will I have to tranquilize you as well?”

“Moi—” Gabriel started, but cut off as the doors to Moira’s lab slid open, bringing in a wave of scents and noise, but one scent stood out among all the rest, damn near drowning them all out.

Rut pheromones.

A growl bubbled up from Gabriel’s chest, half territorial, another wolf reeking of rut so soon after his own ended made whatever beat inside of him furious, yet also half filled with some sense of need, both of a desire to mate, fuck, claim, but also to protect his packmate. Jesse was his, and underneath the stink of rut, he could smell stress.

Gabriel was up and moving, shifting, bones breaking and reforming into that of a wolf’s before he could even think about what he was doing. He was a beast, driven entirely by instinct as he stumbled towards Jesse, machines dragging after him and wires pulling free of his furred skin. 

He was vaguely aware of words being screamed, of the commotion around him, but his entire focus was on Jesse, nobody else mattered. They were all humans, irrelevant to him. Jesse was  _ his _ .

Never before had he felt this intrinsic need to protect, not so strongly. But so soon after rut, his pheromones still lingering on his unwashed skin and Jesse’s there too, it was enough to drive him down to only his base instincts.

Some human was behind Jesse, the rational side of Gabriel’s brain recognized it as Jack, a friend, but to the beast inside of him whoever it was didn’t matter. He snarled and sniffed at Jesse who was standing stock still, sniffing along his neck, his sides, his shoulders. When he reached Jesse’s arms, the snarl returned at the smell of dried blood, the sight of the shaved off skin.

“Whose idea was this?” He could vaguely hear Jesse snarling, his voice quivering as he fought his own instinctual transformation at the scent of such strong rut pheromones. “All of you need to back off and leave before either of us snap.”

Somebody responded, but they didn’t matter. Gabriel licked at the wounds on Jesse’s arms and grabbed at his waist with one massive, clawed hand. 

“He’s not going to hurt me,” Jesse snapped. Somebody must have said something to him. “Get out of here before he hurts  _ you _ because he thinks you’re a threat.” He paused for a moment and Gabriel could hear the rumble of words from not-Jesse being spoken. “I’m his pack and we both just left rut. I’m  _ barely _ able to control myself right now and I’ve been a werewolf for nineteen years so everybody needs to get out of here. Now.”

A rush of not important people flew past him and finally,  _ finally _ he was alone with Jesse. Carefully, he pulled Jesse down to the ground and wrapped their bodies together, still sniffing and licking at Jesse’s wounds.

“It’s okay, Reyes, calm down,” Jesse murmured, entangling his fingers in Gabriel’s neck fur and stroking gently. Gabriel couldn’t help the pleased rumble that escaped his chest at the feeling. “They didn’t know what they were doing, but you gotta calm down and shift back.”

Words were hard, but Gabriel managed to growl out, “You shift.”

“I ain’t shifting, Reyes, or else we’ll both be here all day like this,” Jesse said, scratching behind Gabriel’s ear and his tail thumped lazily against the tiled ground. 

“Mine,” Gabriel laid his head down on Jesse’s lap and wrapped an arm tight against his waist. He could still smell the scent of stress on Jesse, wanted to wash it away, replace it with his scent.

“I ain’t yours you giant hairball,” Jesse snorted. “I’m the one who bit you, I’m the alpha here.”

“Mine,” Gabriel growled, butting his nose into Jesse’s neck.

“Your nose is cold, asshole,” Jesse tried pushing Gabriel’s snout away from his bare neck, but Gabriel just pushed back harder and nipped lightly at any fingers that got near his mouth. “Shift back, Reyes—”

“Gabe.”

“Shift back,  _ Gabe _ . Angie told me about what happened at Grand Mesa and it’s important.” Gabriel could hear the impatience in Jesse’s voice and as soon as he mentioned Grand Mesa, the stress stink came back in full force.

“Stressed,” Gabriel pulled Jesse down and wrapped his body around Jesse’s smaller frame. “Calm.”

“Gabe you ain’t being no help here right now,” Jesse growled, trying and failing to push Gabriel’s arms from off of him. “Stop being a goddamned instinct fueled moron and shift back to help me out here.”

Gabriel growled softly, words were so hard for him to form in that moment, his brain was so damn rattled by the scents that surrounded him and Jesse. 

“I know it’s hard,” Jesse said, giving up and letting Gabriel fully envelop him. “But you gotta try to shift back. Oscar Santos escaped.”

“How?” Gabriel’s eyes snapped open wide and a soft snarl escaped his lips. “He was secure.”

“I don’t know, Lane and Dupont are at Grand Mesa monitoring the situation and I want to go to help.”

“Dangerous.”

“I fucking know it’s dangerous, Reyes,” Jesse snapped. “I ain’t some fragile fucking flower, I know the southwest and I know my uncle. He killed ten guards in his escape and unless I go to help catch him, he’s gonna kill more people on his way to Deadlock Gorge.”

Gabriel’s head was slowly clearing as Jesse spoke more and more. “How?” He asked, voice becoming less of a distorted growl.

“I don’t know,” Jesse sighed and the stress stink grew stronger. Gabriel’s teeth bared slightly at the scent and he pushed his head against Jesse’s. “That’s why I want to go.”

“You’re not trained enough.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Jesse spat. “There are agents greener than me on the field as we speak.”

“They’re not going to deal with their uncle who helped keep them enslaved for six years,” Gabriel snarled, snapping. “You’re not ready for this type of mission.”

“You were the one who wanted me to go with you on a mission to old Deadlock territory,” Jesse snarled back and Gabriel could feel the way his muscles were writhing under his skin, the boy was shifting. Afraid of somehow harming Jesse during his shift, Gabriel let go and looked away, granting him at least some semblance of privacy as his body became grotesque for moments.

“This was before Oscar Santos escaped,” Gabriel’s teeth were bared when Jesse finished his shift. His mind was finally clear once again and his hackles were raised. “I’m your commander, you listen to me. You’re not going on this mission.”

Jesse snarled and threw himself at Gabriel. The plaster of the wall cracked at the force of impact as the two werewolves crashed against it. No longer was Jesse an untrained, underfed, scrappy beast. He was huge, muscular, and trained in all forms of combat. Training which showed as Gabriel shoved Jesse off of him and the two men circled each other, tails lashing and snarling.

“You were telling me to calm down? Now it’s my turn to tell you to calm down,” Gabriel’s voice was a low growl, cautiously watching Jesse’s every move. “Right now, we need to get showers, clean up, and then we can discuss this.”

Jesse snarled in frustration, “Why don’t you trust me?”

Gabriel let himself shift back, bones aching deeply the entire time. On some level, he was aware of his nudity, but he couldn’t bring himself to care as he stared at Jesse who was panting and shaking. “I trust you, McCree, but this is something that I can’t send you to do.”

“Let me have this,” Jesse screamed, voice cracking. “This is my chance for closure, to finally put my past to rest, to make sure that Oscar Santos doesn’t hurt anybody else the way he and the rest of my goddamned family hurt me.”

Gabriel clenched his jaw, “Do you want the truth for this, McCree? You’re too emotionally close to Deadlock, when it’s just the territory, it’s fine. But you have emotional connections to Oscar Santos and whoever he might be working with, it makes you a liability.”

Jesse’s scream became a screech and he slammed his fist against the already crumbling plaster in fury. Where his fist landed on the wall, it crumbled and collapsed, leaving a massive hole, out of the other side, Gabriel could hear a shocked, angry intake of breath.

Gabriel and Jesse looked at each other nervously as that breath turned into a screech of, “What is happening to my lab?” Moira stormed into the lab, more emotion was on her face than Gabriel had ever seen before. Which, seeing as it was a look of pure fury, was a not exactly a good thing.

“I told you that nothing good would come of you fucking with werewolves,” Jesse muttered under his breath.

“Put some clothes on and get out of my lab. Now,” Moira’s voice went deathly low and she fixed Gabriel a death glare, potent enough to kill. “And Gabriel, I will be sending you the bill for all of the repairs and machines.”

Gabriel scrambled to find a pair of scrubs to throw on and grabbed the back of Jesse’s neck lightly, not enough to scruff the boy but enough to drag him out of the lab.

“Let go of me, I can walk,” Jesse shook out of Gabriel’s grip as soon as they were outside of the lab and glared at him. “I’m about as much as a liability dealin’ with Deadlocks as I’d be in the gorge which you were all too willing to let me do not even a week ago.”

Gabriel had a horrible headache building, he was sore from rut, hungrier than he had been in ages, his emotions were still all over the place from rut and his proximity to Jesse’s rut scent, and really,  _ really  _ wanted a fucking shower. So could anybody blame him for just wanting everything to be over so he could go to his room and sleep for twenty four hours straight when he said, “Fine. We leave in two days.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow it's been a while. I didn't mean to go like six months between updating but it just kinda happened. I promise that the next chapter will come out much sooner!


	17. Chapter 16 -- 2056

Jesse’s stomach rolled with nerves as he boarded the transport jet that would take him and Gabriel to the Grand Mesa Watchpoint where they would meet up with Lane and Dupont. It would be the first time in a year that he would return to the United States, that he would return to Deadlock Gorge. As much as he didn’t want to admit it to anybody, the thought of seeing any remaining Deadlock members — even if it was only one person — made him scared and nervous.

Gabriel looked at him, expression unreadable. “This is a mission, McCree. I expect that you’ll treat it as such and not attempt to run off on me.”

“I know,” Jesse grunted and frowned. “I want to figure this shit out as much as you do.”

Gabriel stayed silent for several long moments, still staring straight at him and it took every ounce of self control in Jesse’s body not to shift uncomfortably under the weight of his gaze. “I don’t give a fuck about wolf shit here,” Gabriel finally said, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. “I’m your boss and you will follow every command I give you without bitching and moaning. Got it?”

Jesse averted his eyes from Gabriel’s, “I got it, Reyes.”

Gabriel was still staring as he leaned back in his seat and said,  “Good. Get some sleep, it’s a long flight.”

Jesse’s fingers drummed on his thighs as he thought in silence, because despite Gabriel’s words, it wasn’t like he could just fall asleep on command. “Reyes,” he started quietly. “You sure you’re good for this? Rut was just a few days ago and your case wasn’t exactly… normal.”

Cracking a wry smile, Gabriel said around his cigarette, “Is any of this normal? When I signed up for the army, I thought I was gonna be shooting human beings. When I agreed to the Enhancement Program, I thought I was gonna be shooting evil robots. Now I’m a creature from a fairy tale hunting another big bad wolf.”

“That doesn’t really answer the question.”

“You’re starting to sound like Ziegler,” Gabriel snorted. “I’m fine, trust me. Now seriously, get some sleep and stop bugging me.”

——

The last time Jesse had seen the entrance to the Grand Mesa Watchpoint he had been in handcuffs, looking through the windows of something barely better than a prison transport jet, and finally dragged in kicking and spitting by Gabriel. He might have been a recruit of Blackwatch at that point, but he had a hell of an attitude to kick up. As Jesse wrapped a hand on the open doorway of the Orca, waiting for Gabriel to finish talking with the new pilot, Fio and staring at the wide windows of the Watchpoint that reflected the sea of trees, he was filled with some sense of awe at how much his life had changed over the past year.

“You look happy,” Gabriel raised an eyebrow as he leaned on the wall by Jesse.

“I ain’t never seen a forest this big,” Jesse cracked a wry grin and motioned at the reflections on the windows. “Growing up, Pa usually stuck around the desert, and it’s not like I ever got much of a chance to explore the world with Deadlock.”

Gabriel rolled his cigarette between his teeth, obviously thinking. “Depending on how this goes, you and I can do a little run in the forest before we get going back to Europe.”

Jesse’s grin grew wider and more genuine at the thought. He hadn’t been able to run freely when shifted since he had been a pup with his pa.  He clenched his toes in his boots, thinking about the feeling of soft earth and leaf litter beneath his paws instead of hard steel or rough sand and his nose twitched at the thought of all the prey animals he’d be able to smell, to chase, to eat. “I’d…” he took a deep breath, “I’d really like that, Reyes.”

Gabriel’s eyes softened and he clapped a hand on Jesse’s shoulder, “We got a job to do first, so do your best to earn that run, so let’s get going, kid.” He shoved Jesse forward in a way that maybe he thought was gentle but ended up being way too hard — or maybe it was just because he was a jackass — and Jesse stumbled out of the transport jet.

Jesse gripped the brim of his new hat to keep it from flying off and scowled at Gabriel who was smirking as he hopped out of the jet much more gracefully than Jesse and stomped out his cigarette butt beneath his feet. Before Jesse could open his mouth to complain, Gabriel said, “It’s only been a few days and driving it’s almost eight hours to Deadlock Gorge so I doubt he’s all the way in New Mexico yet, reports were he got out of here on foot. I’m gonna have Fio fly around and see if she can find anything with a heat signature similar to ours, are there any routes Deadlock used to use around here?”

“I don’t really know of any, we tended to avoid this area thanks to Overwatch,” Jesse frowned and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I know the reports were he got out on foot, but were any vehicles stolen?”

“Everything’s accounted for here,” Gabriel’s eyebrows knitted together and he stared at the wide windows in thought. “How good is he at carjacking?” He started walking and Jesse followed close behind, spurs clicking on the ground.

They stopped in front of the door while Gabriel fished his ID from his pocket to scan the two of them in. Jesse’s breath was momentarily taken away as he stared at himself in the mirror like window, it was his first time wearing his official Blackwatch tactical uniform, everything was made to stretch and grow with him as he shifted, and he could hardly recognize himself in it, especially compared to how he looked the first time he had been at that Watchpoint. He wasn’t some skinny, half starved kid anymore. He was as wide as Gabriel was, maybe even a hair taller, and there was… life in his eyes.

“McCree?”

“What?” Jesse shook himself out of his thoughts and looked at Gabriel.

“How good is Oscar at carjacking?”

Jesse ground his teeth together as he thought, “I don’t know about him specifically, but a lot of Deadlocks could at the very least hotwire a car.”

The door slid open and Gabriel hurried inside. “You and I might be taking a trip to Deadlock Gorge sooner than expected. Do you know where he’d go if he got there?”

“There’s a few places,” Jesse said slowly, struggling to keep up with Gabriel’s fast pace. “Right outside of the main gorge, there’s a series of caves where—” Jesse broke off and clenched his fists, nails burying themselves deep into his palms. “Where Pa died. He could be hiding there. There’s also the Deadlock base itself, but I doubt it. Other places could be some of the old motels and shit around the gorge, they were all pretty Deadlock friendly and I doubt that’s changed much— especially when it’s Oscar Santos asking.”

Jesse couldn’t see Gabriel’s face, but the tone of his voice wasn’t happy, “I’ll have Dupont run checks on police databases on any carjackings in the area, see if we can get anybody who matches Oscar’s description. He’s got a few distinctive scars, should be easy to find if anybody reported him.”

“What should I do for now?” Jesse asked, standing a few feet back as Gabriel placed his palm on a scanner by a door that led to the Blackwatch section of the Watchpoint.

“While I’m meeting with the surviving guards, Dupont, and some of the head staff here, you’ll be meeting with Lane to see if you can catch a scent on Oscar. If lady luck’s on our side, he’ll be on foot and we can track him.”

“And where’s Lane at?” Jesse didn’t mention the fact that lady luck was rarely on his side.

“Directions are on your tablet, I’ll ping you when I have a more solid plan laid out” Gabriel waved him off as the door opened and he walked through it. Jesse followed quickly, pulling out his tablet.

Instead of following after Gabriel — who had become swarmed by Blackwatch staff and important looking people in suits as soon as he stepped into the hall — Jesse stared at his tablet screen, still not quite sure as to where he was supposed to be going. He frowned and poked around at his screen, leaning against one of the walls as Gabriel was swept away in the tide of people.

Jesse poked away at his tablet for several minutes, not sure that it had even synced up with the Grand Mesa base plans. It was his first time accessing a Watchpoint that wasn’t the main one’s information and it wasn’t like he had gotten much of a tutorial on how to fully sync up his tablet.

“The Commander abandon you?” Lane’s deep voice rang out in the hall and Jesse barely avoided jumping in fright.

Jesse looked up at the massive brick wall of a man, “He got swarmed as soon as we got here. Told me to find you before he left without checking that I actually knew how to.”

Lane’s lips twitched in what was about as much as a smile that Jesse had ever seen from him, “Sounds like Reyes. I’ll show you around the base later, but the Santos case is more important right now.”

“Reyes said you’ll have me try and pick up a scent?”

Lane nodded and began walking. “We have a general path as to where he went thanks to security cameras, but as soon as he got into the trees we lost him.”

Jesse followed after Lane in silence, taking in his surroundings. There wasn’t a lot to look at in the base, mostly plain walls with some screens flashing information about Oscar’s escape, but it just felt different from the Swiss base. Unable to hold in his curiosity, Jesse asked, “So are prisons a common sight in Watchpoints?”

Lane scratched at his five o’clock shadow. “There’s holding cells in most of the bases, but this is one of the few with an actual honest to god prison in it.”

“Ain’t there arguments over keeping the prisoners? Like between the US government and Overwatch?”

“There haven’t been in the past,” Lane shook his head. “It’s always a possibility but so far the governments of the world have been happy to let Overwatch keep the criminals we bust.”

“Might not be so happy after this,” Jesse frowned.

“They won’t find out about this,” Lane said as he turned a corner and placed a hand on a scanner. “Oscar was in Blackwatch’s ward, we kept a few spaces there for the Deadlocks since we weren’t sure who were wolves and who weren’t. Officially Oscar Santos died in the raid.”

“Why not just kill him?”

The doors opened, revealing another set of doors and another scanner. “He doesn’t deserve an easy death, none of the Deadlock admins we captured did.”

“Did?”

Lane’s lips twisted into a grimace, “He killed them in his escape.”

——

The strong chemical scent of cleaners intermixed with the metallic scent of blood, burning Jesse’s nose as soon as he and Lane stepped in the hallway that had housed the Deadlock wolves. There was no trace of any blood or bodies, but the scent was still strong.

Jesse covered his nose and tried to breathe as shallowly as he could. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to pick up his scent.”

Lane looked at him with concern in his eyes, “What’s wrong?”

“Too many other smells, the cleaners and the blood are pretty much the only things I can smell.” Jesse’s voice was nasally.

“Fuck, of course,” Lane grimaced and ran a hand down his face. “We’ve got his path through the base on the cameras at the very least, so I’ll walk you along that and hopefully you can pick up a scent somewhere.”

Jesse nodded but stayed silent. He was thinking that maybe it would just be easier to head to the gorge, either to beat Oscar there or to find him if he had succeeded in stealing a car, but he wasn’t sure if anybody would listen to him. They seemed to want to be thorough about this and he couldn’t fully blame them.

Jesse sighed and turned his head to face one of the cells, morbid curiosity getting the better of him. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d find inside, but there was nothing but deep gouge marks in the steel and an overpowering scent of chemical cleaner. Of course there wouldn’t be any bodies left.

The empty cell block was eerie, outside sounds were mostly dampened but his and Lane’s footsteps echoed, bouncing off of locked doors and empty cells whose doors had been ripped off. The place smelled so strongly of blood underneath chemical cleaner that it made Jesse want to retch.

Some part of Jesse’s mind wondered who all had been held in the cells, had Oscar murdered his brothers in his one chance to escape? Who of Jesse’s tormentors from his childhood now laid cold in some Blackwatch morgue, probably prepared to be studied by scientists in stark white coats who always smelled vaguely of death.

Jesse shook himself to clear his head of the thoughts. Worrying himself into a panic over maybes and what-ifs would do nothing. He needed to focus, he had a job to do. Not to mention that if Oscar knew he was not only alive but assisting the group of humans who had brought Deadlock down, he was probably gonna be the first on the list of people whose blood Oscar would wet his claws with.

Jesse frowned as he followed behind Lane. The massive man was usually quiet, not much for small talk and the silence stretched between the two of them. Jesse’s spurs were one of the few sounds in the hall as he tried to figure out the words for a question.

“You know about this better than me,” Lane said before Jesse could begin his question. “The commander, is he good to go on this mission?”

Jesse ran a hand down his face. “I don’t know,” he admitted, it was the cold, hard truth. He didn’t even know if Gabriel had full control over his shifts yet. Not even a week since the disaster of an early rut and now they were thousands of miles and an ocean away from their containment rooms.

Well, there were the wolf proof prison cells at least.

“Reyes gives the Strike Commander endless shit for putting himself in harm's way to save somebody else,” Lane chuckled to himself as he checked his tablet and altered his course according to what he saw there. “But he does the same shit, he thinks he has to be the one to save the world, everybody else be damned.”

“He doesn’t really know when to give up.”

Lane laughed loudly at that, “No he doesn’t. I’ve worked with him for a few years now and the one thing that’s been constant is that each time he’s faced with a challenge that everybody says is impossible, he says fuck you I can do it. The scary part is, nine times out of town, he _does_ do it.”

“Like getting bit by some mangey teen werewolf and spending months as an uncontrollable beast and still trying to lead a black ops organization.”

“Exactly like that.” Lane paused for a few moments as they walked through the halls in silence. Jesse was still trying to pick up a scent on Oscar, but the sheer number of other scents made that difficult. “I was vehemently against you when you first joined,” Lane admitted as they made another turn. “I didn’t think anything good could come from having some gang raised brat in Blackwatch, especially a werewolf that already bit one of us.”

“So what made you change your mind?”

“You made that fucking difficult, I’ll tell you that much,” Lane snorted. “You acted like a goddamned knobhead for the first few months. But as much as you constantly bitched and moaned, you put in the work and I had to respect that.”

Lane paused and turned around to look at Jesse, eyes intense and serious, “What do you know of Irish folklore, Jesse?”

“Uh,” Jesse’s brows knitted together in confusion at the sudden change in topic. “Leprechauns?”

Lane let out a small puff of air that Jesse assumed to be some sort of half amused laugh, “We’ve got time before Reyes is done with his meeting, I want to tell you a little on why I was wary of keeping a werewolf in Blackwatch.”

“Okay…” Jesse was confused, but he followed Lane into a small conference room anyway.

“Irish folklore is more than just leprechauns,” Lane crossed his beefy arms across his chest as he sat down.

“I know Reyes is busy, but I could keep working on finding the scent trail,” Jesse scratched at the back of his neck as he stared at Lane. “I don’t really see why you can’t teach me about this some other time.”

“Maybe I’m just here to fuck with you,” Lane’s eyes twinkled. “But just listen to me, kid.”

Jesse made a face but stayed silent. “There’s a lot of bullshit out there when it comes to stories about fae — as I’m sure you can relate as a werewolf — but there’s a lot of truth to the stories as well.” Lane paused to check a ping on his communicator, but continued shortly after, “In Ireland, we don’t have many tales of werewolves. Maybe werewolves were hunted out of Ireland at the same time wolves were, or maybe the fey kept them out of the British Isles anyway. But there were still a few scattered tales of battle hungry, bloodied men who could turn into wolves. Other tales spoke of men who turned into a wolf, never to return to human form, but they were benevolent protectors of man.”

“The second one doesn’t sound like a werewolf,” Jesse frowned. “You either shift freely or you die, it ain’t possible to stay in one form.”

“As I said, a lot of them are bullshit,” Lane cocked an eyebrow. “Werewolves aren’t common in Irish lore, but faeries are. One of those include the cu-sidhe which I’ve now come think might be some type of fae tainted werewolf.”

“So faeries are real? I find that hard to believe.”

“Says the werewolf.”

Jesse frowned and slumped into the chair, “Ain’t faeries like twinkling little mischief makers?”

“Some are,” Lane shrugged. “But most aren’t, there’s many that are much more malevolent than that and many that I wouldn’t call malevolent but would tear a human apart because they don’t know better. They’re not evil, they have their own ways and customs, it’s just that they contrast with the ways of mortals. The same way a vampire might drain a human because they’re starving, or a werewolf might slaughter a human when feral. I wouldn’t call those two creatures evil, just following their instincts.”

“And how do you know this?”

Lane closed his eyes, “I’d say it’s because I’m Irish, but the amount of Irishmen that believe in the fey nowadays is shrinking by the day.”

“Lane…”

When Lane opened his eyes, the green was flecked with gold, “You and Reyes are far from the only creatures of legend making it in the modern world.” He blinked and his eyes were back to plain green, “It’s natural to fear what you don’t know, and before meeting you, I hadn’t believed that werewolves were real. When the news spread to me that Reyes was bitten by a werewolf and that we recruited the kid that bit him, I was close to killing the both of you.”

“How generous of you to not commit murder.”

Lane gave him a dry look, “Now my fear is less that the two of you will be like the creatures of an old horror movie and more that there are more creatures like the cu-sidhe out there, not fae touched, but made of something more, something worse.”

“The Deadlock shipments…” Jesse murmured.

“Exactly, if Talon wants the genetic information of werebeasts, nothing good is going to come from it. They could create ungodly mixes that reveal the truth of us all to the world. Or we could have something even worse than the omnic crisis on our hands.”

Jesse let out a deep sigh, “So basically be a good dog and fetch Oscar so we can question him.”

“Exactly. And I expect that you won’t tell Reyes about this.”

Jesse stared at Lane, trying to see beyond the human facade the man gave. He didn’t know much about fey, but he assumed that under the pale skin and dark hair, something much more wild, less human hid. “It’s our little secret.”

——

Hours later, when Jesse had utterly failed at finding any trace of Oscar’s scent — too many other scents were everywhere in the base — Gabriel came with the news that a carjacking had been reported with a suspect that matched Oscar’s description. Blackwatch was to immediately take over the investigation and would pay the woman enough money to keep her quiet and buy a new car as to keep any news of Oscar Santos being alive hushed.

“We can assume that Oscar is holed up in the gorge at this point,” Gabriel said to Jesse, Lane, and Dupont. “Lane and Dupont, I want the two of you to remain here and manage communications and scour every satellite we have pointed around that godforsaken gorge for any sight of Oscar Santos. McCree and I will be on the ground searching for him. It was useless finding a scent for him here thanks to the amount of people, but in the wild near the gorge where few people go, we should be able to track him.”

“McCree has highlighted a few spots that Oscar is most likely to be,” Gabriel pulled up a map on the wallscreen and began circling a few spots with his light pen. “This cave system had been used in the past for Deadlock members to hide, it has a natural source of water inside of it and it should have a few caches of dried food within it. That will be the first place McCree and I check as it will be the most likely place Oscar will be. Other locations are the old Deadlock base, these motels in town, and potentially these other cave systems within the gorge.” Gabriel circled each of the areas in turn. “We will not be returning to base until we find either Oscar Santos’ corpse or find him alive and hiding. Under no circumstances can we risk him returning to Deadlock and thus the limelight.”

“Should we scour social media for any potential pictures with him in the background?” Dupont asked. “If we have images of him, I can test out a program I’ve been working on.”

“Yes, do that,” Gabriel nodded. “If it works, save the pictures and have them taken down from the web.”

“Understood.”

Nerves boiled in Jesse’s gut as he stared at the map of the gorge. There would be no backup when he and Gabriel were there, putting the other Blackwatch members at risk of being bit by Oscar wasn’t a potential. Not to mention the risk of them being bit by Gabriel…

But as Jesse stood up to follow Gabriel out of the conference room to the Orca, he knew that he had no other option. Gabriel was right, letting Oscar go free was too big of a risk and he needed to do this, if not for the sake of werebeasts and humans but for his own sake. With the death of Oscar Santos, maybe he would finally be able to put his own past to rest.

——

The air in the gorge was dry enough to chap Jesse’s lips as soon as he stepped out of the Orca into the red dirt. As many bad memories he had of the town, the painfully dry air that seemed to suck the moisture out of everyone who stepped foot there was nostalgic. It reminded him both of the hell he lived through and the happy years of his childhood with his pa.

“Hovercars can’t get around the gorge so we’ll be on foot,” Gabriel yelled over the propellers of the Orca. “Fio’s headed back to Grand Mesa, which means that we’re gonna be on our own from here on out.”

Jesse swallowed nervously, “Got it.”

“The cave system is about two miles to our north,” Gabriel’s wrist communicator beamed a holoscreen map of the area. “We don’t know where Oscar will be if he’s in the caves, but we’ll want to move with the highest level of caution.”

“I know the area, I’ll lead,” Jesse offered.

“Exactly what I was gonna ask,” Gabriel nodded his approval and Jesse couldn’t help the little jolt of excitement in his belly at the smallest hint of Gabriel’s approval.

“When we’re in the caves I expect complete operation silence,” Gabriel said as the Orca took off behind them. “We can’t afford the people to block every exit so we can’t risk Oscar getting spooked and running off.”

Jesse made a face at Gabriel. “Reyes I can promise you that I’ll be quieter than _you_ when moving around in the caves. I’ve had nineteen years of practice in this body.”

Gabriel raised his brows, “Prove it to me in the caves then, Jesse.”

“I just hope we find him there,” Jesse muttered, eyes squinting as he stared into the bright desert. The air seemed to shimmer in the heat of the day and he could smell few things besides the dry sand, Gabriel beside him, and the exhaust that lingered from the Orca. The lack of smells would be beneficial when they were close to Oscar, much better than the Grand Mesa base filled with well intentioned but strong smelling humans and… well whatever the fuck Lane was. Fairy? He was like goddamned Tinkerbell out murdering people for Blackwatch or something.

Jesse held in a groan, thinking about Lane. All he wanted in life was to just live with his pa somewhere in the wild, unbothered by humans, and now pa was dead, he was part of some world peacekeeping organization for humans hunting down his uncle who probably wanted to kill him in an area he never wanted to return to, and his burly, manly coworker was something out of a children’s cartoon.

“We’ll either find him there or somewhere else around here,” Gabriel said, eyes scanning the distance. “I’m worried he’s already gotten in contact with old Deadlocks.”

“I thought we captured most of them.”

“We did, but there were a few that slipped through the cracks,” Gabriel frowned and began walking, sand crunching underneath his heavy boots. “I’m wondering if Talon moved in thanks to the help of some of those Deadlocks.”

“You seem certain it’s Talon,” Jesse followed closely behind, footsteps light and near silent. He knew the rich, red sand and dirt in the gorge like the back of his hand.

“There’s no other group that would really want this hellhole of an area,” Gabriel said and Jesse could hear the frown in his voice. “Deadlock was able to keep such a stranglehold for three reasons: they protected the people here during the Crisis, they were incredibly powerful, and nobody actually wants to live in this fucking hellhole unless there’s something to gain from it.”

“And Talon has something to gain.”

“Exactly, I don’t think they care about the territory as much as the people who owned it— the _werewolves_ who owned it and the other genetic material they had been trafficking.”

“If we’re lucky, Talon just wants some super weapon that Deadlock had.”

Gabriel laughed, “That Overwatch just so happened to miss when we were cleaning up the base? If only we could get that lucky.”

——

Gabriel and Jesse had made good time through the desert and before long, they arrived at one of the entrances to the large cave systems in the gorge. At it, there was the faint scent of werewolf, barely there but enough to show that they were on the right track.

Jesse nodded at Gabriel, “We’re at the right place. He’s probably a couple hours of foot travel down in the caves.”

“Lead the way, McCree,” Gabriel nodded back and let Jesse pass him. Not only was the younger man more familiar with the caves in the gorge, he had more experience with tracking based on scent and sound.

As soon as Jesse stepped foot in the caves, the temperature dropped from overwhelmingly sweltering to still too damn hot. Much like sand, the heat in Deadlock Gorge permeated everything like a sickness, infecting everything it could touch. His shirt stuck to his sweaty chest underneath his layers of clothes and his mouth tasted like dry, hot grit.

He paused, brushing a gloved hand against the cave wall and took a deep breath before uncapping his water bottle and taking a swig to clear his mouth of dirt. The water was hot with a metallic tang thanks to the bottle, but it did its job.

With his mouth cleared, Jesse closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the stale air filter through his sensitive nose and mouth, trying to pick up a scent trail.

The scent was as faint as it was outside, but it was there, “Unless there’s other wolves still in the gorge, Oscar’s been through here.” Jesse’s voice was quiet, not wanting to risk anything louder than a low whisper.

When he got a slight nod of approval from Gabriel. Jesse began to follow his nose through the ancient caverns. There were also the smells of animals, like small lizards and coyotes that holed up in the cave and the rusty tang of blood let Jesse know the coyotes had recently gotten a kill. At least that’s what he hoped the blood was from.

Some dark, morbid part of Jesse’s mind wondered if he was imagining the scent of blood. It wasn’t the same cave that his pa had died in, but pa had died so close by that he couldn’t help but see his body, feverish and weak, blood soaking through layers of cloth despite Jesse’s best efforts.

Jesse swallowed hard, trying to chase the thought from his mind. He had a job to focus on— catching Oscar was absolutely crucial.

He didn’t let himself think about anything but the scent trail that progressively got stronger as the caves got colder. There was little light, only the low glow of LEDs on their uniforms, but it was enough for Jesse’s — and presumably Gabriel’s — eyes to see the cave. Some spots in the cave had stronger scents than others, like Oscar had spent a long time there, but when Jesse stopped to inspect the areas, he could find nothing but some cigarette ashes and a few protein bar wrappers.

At least it was proof enough that they were on the right trail.

Every hundred yards or so, Jesse watched as Gabriel marked their left wall with some glowing marker. He hadn’t noticed it at first and was confused as to why Gabriel had been doing it, but after their tenth turn as they went deeper into the earth, he was grateful for the sure pathway back.

The caves in Deadlock Gorge were a labyrinth of dead ends and pathways that led to flooded caverns. The slow _drips_ of water were almost mesmerizing to listen to and the smell of moss and mildew was strong, completely different from the dry air of the surface.

Gabriel and Jesse took a break about half an hour into the journey into the caves to eat a small lunch of dry, flavorless protein bars followed by a nutrient pack. Jesse still wasn’t used to the strange, flavorless goo of the nutrient packs. In training, Gabriel sung their praises for their usefulness in the field, and Angela had explained every aspect as to why the packs and a protein bar were everything a person needed to survive, but Jesse would have rather had a sandwich or something with actual texture and flavor.

But he choked down the Blackwatch Brand Nutrient Goo (approved by super soldier werewolves!) and followed Gabriel’s lead in chewing up the packaging of the goo which just might have been a worse experience than swallowing the goo in the first place.

When he was back he was going to have a conversation with Angela about things like flavor and consistency and how it was quite possible a crime against humanity to force him to consume that shit.

Jesse made a face at Gabriel. “Next time just fucking stab me instead of making me eat this shit,” he whispered.”

Gabriel let out a quiet, breathy laugh, “You’ll get used to it— I had worse during the Crisis.”

“It’s cruel and inhuman punishment,” Jesse uncapped his water bottle to try and clear his mouth of weird goo remnants. “I get you’re still mad at me about biting you but—“ Jesse’s voice broke off suddenly when he saw several pinpoints of light in the distance, low to the ground like the eyes of several animals.

“Jesse?”

Jesse shook himself, it was probably a family of coyotes or something spooked by the presence of two werewolves. “Just some animals, we should probably get going.”

He didn’t let himself think that coyotes rarely ventured this far into the caverns.

——

An hour after they got moving again, Jesse and Gabriel found where Oscar had set up his camp. A small electric lamp was set up by a few blueprints and maps. Gabriel took photos while Jesse scouted around the area. Oscar had been there within the past hour or two but at some point he had left to go farther into the caves.

Not wanting to go farther without Gabriel, Jesse returned to where the commander was reading through a pile of letters. He held one to Jesse who pulled out a penlight and quickly began reading.

_Oscar,_

_I’ve attached a mapchip for the new base. Now is the time for you to return home. Our new allies are anxious to talk with you. Make sure you thank them for helping you escape._

_Itou is dead, we’re of need of a new alpha. Deep in the caverns, you’ll find more info on what you need to do to prove yourself fit to be alpha._

_I’ll see you soon,_

_C._

Jesse read the letter over again. Oscar was to be Deadlock’s new alpha, he supposed that wasn’t too surprising, Blake Itou was dead and Oscar was the last Santos standing.

“This is bad,” Jesse’s voice was the faintest whisper, barely audible to even himself.

“We need that chip,” Gabriel responded. If Deadlock was set up in a new base, they needed to find it fast. “Do you know who C could be?”

“No,” Jesse shook his head. “Could be any number of Deadlocks, I didn’t get to know much of them by name.”

Gabriel frowned, “Whoever they are, they managed to get these letters smuggled into Grand Mesa. The rest of these have several mentions of their new ally, a few of Los Muertos, and they’re all signed by C.”

“I don’t like this, Reyes. We need to get out and get in touch with the rest of Blackwatch.”

“We need to capture Oscar first, then we can mobilize Blackwatch.”

Jesse let out a shaky breath, “He’s that way.”

Jesse watched as Gabriel turned his head to the tight, dark passageway that led deeper into the caverns. It was where Oscar’s scent was the strongest and left the two little choice but to get on their hands and knees to crawl through the claustrophobic darkness in hopes that the tunnel would open up.

——

The ambush happened before Jesse or Gabriel could process what was happening. They were walking across the only dry spot of another flooded cavern when suddenly, bright lights illuminated the room, momentarially blinding them.

Jesse reached for his revolver automatically while Gabriel swore. He couldn’t see anything and his head burned in pain at the sudden brightness. He took several small steps backwards until his back was flushed with Gabriel’s chest.

“I knew you’d fuckin’ follow me,” Oscar’s voice echoed in the cavern and Jesse couldn’t pin a location and when he cracked open his eyes, he was still completely blind. “If there was one thing you McCree’s were good at, it was goin’ where you weren’t wanted.”

“Surrender, Oscar,” Gabriel growled.

“I think you best shut the fuck up before I shoot you,” Oscar’s voice was slimy and furious. Jesse still tried to desperately place where he was coming from in case he could get off some blind shot. “See, down in these caves, my new friends left me a few real fun toys in case I was followed by you two; lots of wolfsbane, some silver dust, a lot of fun materials I could use to make you wish you ain’t never stepped foot in Deadlock Gorge.”

Jesse snarled, “You never had the subtlety for torture. Just fuck off and shoot us if you’re gonna kill us.” He wanted Oscar to keep talking, _needed_ Oscar to keep talking. He was getting closer to them and he was somewhere in shallow water, but the flooded waters disguised his scent and the cavern’s echo’s his where he was.

But slowly, too slowly, Jesse’s eyes were adjusting to the light.

“Half breed mutts don’t get to talk,” Oscar’s snarl was as nasty as it was close and Jesse’s shaking hands tightened on his gun. “Especially mutts that think they can make their own pack.”

“He’s close,” Gabriel muttered under his breath. “When I tell you to shoot, shoot to your right.”

Jesse’s heart hammered in his chest as he listened to Oscar’s footsteps but he forced his breathing to calm. He couldn’t afford to panic, not then, not ever.

One step, Gabriel rested a hand on Jesse’s waist, steadying him.

Two steps, Jesse’s hand stopped shaking.

Three steps, the sound of a gun being cocked.

“ _Now_ !” Gabriel’s scream echoed in the cavern, followed quickly by two _cracks_ of gunshots.

Jesse’s eyes went wide when he heard the second gunshot. There was no blinding wave of pain across his body, but he could feel warm wetness spread along his back.

Jesse spun around to see Gabriel clutching his side where the fabric of his hoodie was torn and bright crimson blood was rapidly spreading.

“Reyes— Gabe—“ Jesse started, eyes wide and panicked.

“Fuck you,” Oscar’s strained voice cut through. Jesse spun to see Oscar collapsed in the shallow water which was slowly turning red as the collapsed man laid in it. He didn’t know where he hit Oscar, but it was somewhere that decommissioned him.

Unfortunately, Gabriel seemed to be decommissioned himself as he slowly fell to his knees, hissing out a pained breath.

Panic was quickly building in Jesse’s chest as he stared at Gabriel. But he forced himself to remember his field training. The wound on Gabriel’s side needed to be packed and to have pressure on it as soon as possible. The man was a super soldier with insane regeneration abilities, but that didn’t help save him from blood loss.

“Jesse,” Gabriel’s voice was low. Jesse could barely hear him over his own panicked thoughts.

“Jesse.”

Jesse pulled out a roll of gauze that he unrolled as quickly as possible in order to pack Gabriel’s wound. _Pack the wound. Apply pressure. Inject biotics. Pack the wound. Apply pressure. Inject biotics. Pack the wound. Apply pressure. Inject—_

“Jesse, behind you,” Gabriel screamed and Jesse spun around to see himself damn near face to face with a muscular, older woman and four fully shifted werewolves. Her face was familiar, but Jesse couldn’t place it.

“Really, Oscar?” Her tone was biting and unamused as she stared at Gabriel and Jesse. “I leave you for three hours and you end up dying in a puddle.”

Jesse couldn’t help the way his hand shook as he raised his revolver at the woman. He was going to die in some flooded cavern.

“Put the gun down, Jesse,” the woman said and Jesse refused. The woman’s eyes were dark as she stared at him and one of the werewolves moved to where Oscar laid in the water.

“I’m not going to hurt you, pup. Lower your gun.” Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the werewolf pull Oscar up roughly and Jesse could see that the bullet had ripped through his stomach.

“Go fuck yourself,” Jesse couldn’t tell if his voice was as breathless and terrified as he thought he sounded, but he had to say something.

The woman’s eyes narrowed, unamused. “Put the gun down before you get yourself hurt more.” She turned away from him to face Oscar.

“Just kill him already,” Oscar said, clutching his stomach. “Let him and the mutt die here and end our problems.”

The woman glared at Oscar, “I should let you die here instead, Oscar.”

“You wouldn’t, Deadlock needs an alpha.”

“You’re right, it does.” She walked up, fingers drumming on her sidearm and Jesse wondered how many wolves he could take down before he and Gabriel were torn apart. He had five bullets left, one for each wolf and the woman, but he didn’t think he’d be able to shoot even two of them before the others were on him.

“It needs me,” her hand wrapped around her gun and in one motion it was drawn and pointing straight at Oscar’s face.

“Carmen—“

The gunshot rang out at the same time Jesse’s world collapsed in on itself. The reason the woman looked so familiar… why she called him pup… why she wouldn’t hurt him...

Carmen Santos, his mother, was alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk what the bigger twist is, that carmen wasn't actually dead or that jesse actually knows approximately jack shit about any supernatural community outside of werewolves and upon being confronted by any of them, his immediate reaction is that "no that's not real" despite being a werewolf


	18. Chapter 17 -- 2056

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for non-consensual drug use

Jesse’s hands shook as he stared at the woman… at his mother in front of him. Gabriel was injured, Oscar was dead, and they were deep in a cave system in the middle of Deadlock territory. No matter how he looked at the situation, he was fucked.

“McCree, we need to get out of here,” Gabriel grunted, hand clutching his wound, gauze already soaked with blood.

Jesse turned to stare at him, “Out of here is several hours and you’ve been shot.” _And my mom is somehow alive and just shot her brother_ , he didn’t add.

“I’ve been shot worse,” there was an attempt of a laugh from Gabriel but it fell flat.

Carmen’s footsteps were heavy and loud and Jesse faced her, “Don’t come a step closer.” He was certain his voice was shaking as badly as his hands were.

Carmen’s lips twitched, “You’d be dead before you could get five feet if you shot me, Jesse, put the gun down and we can have a friendly chat.”

Jesse’s eyes flicked between Carmen and the wolves flanking her, they were probably a bit smaller than he was shifted, but they were still a foot taller than he was at the moment with a hundred pounds on him. He could shift, but in the time spent in the in between stage, he’d be vulnerable to being jumped. He has five bullets and was confident he could get them off in time but… but Carmen was his mom and some part of him desperately wanted— what did he want? Her acceptance? Her love? Some family bond that had been ripped away from him when he was twelve— the type of bond he had been denied, thinking she was dead his whole life?

“We won’t win this fight, put the gun down, Jesse,” Gabriel said gently.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Jesse,” Carmen said, putting her gun in its holster and taking a step towards Jesse.

“You seemed to have no problem murderin’ your brother,” Jesse said, gun still raised but his grip loosened.

Carmen shrugged and made a face, “He deserved it, but you don’t, I’d never hurt you if I could help it.” She grabbed his gun and lightly pulled it free of his hands. She held the weapon up and one of the wolves grabbed it and unloaded it.

“Pa said you died,” Jesse whispered. “If you had stayed with him, he wouldn’t have died, I wouldn’t have—” he cut off, voice breaking as he swallowed the tears that threatened to overflow from his eyes. “I wouldn’t have been tortured for six years. Why didn’t you stop it?”

Carmen was over half a foot shorter than him, but her presence seemed so much larger as she ran a thumb along his cheek, “We all had to make sacrifices, it was hard for me, seeing what they did to you. But I wasn’t allowed to help, I couldn’t do anything but wait for my chance to take control, give you the life of a prince you were meant to have as my son.”

She wrapped her arms around him and Jesse knew he was trembling, everything was too much. Some childish part of him wanted to be comforted by her hug, but he couldn’t bring himself to wrap his shaking arms around her. “All of that is in the past, my sweet pup. Every necessary hardship is over and now I’m going to take you home, where you belong.”

“Touching sentiment, but McCree’s not going anywhere with you.” Gabriel’s voice was strained but clear. Jesse could hear the scowl that was probably plastered on his face.

“I don’t think you’re in much of a position to make any sort of demand,” Carmen said, unwrapping her arms from around Jesse. Her steps were slow and deliberate as she walked towards Gabriel, the sound of her heavy footfalls echoed loudly in the flooded cavern. She knelt down next to him and stared at him. “You’ve done well with my boy, but it’s time for his mother to take the reins again.”

Gabriel barked out a laugh, “You have to realize that we’re not going to just let Deadlock build itself back up.”

Carmen’s lips quirked in a smirk. “You have to realize that Overwatch isn’t going to be able to do anything,” her tone was mocking. “We’ve got allies, sweetheart, and Blake’s not here to fuck things up any longer.” She stood up and rested her hand on her gun, “Tell me, Commander, what do you know about Talon?”

“I really don’t care to hear you monologuing about your evil plan,” Gabriel said dryly. “If you’re gonna shoot me, just do it already.”

“I’ll spare you the monologue but I’m not killing you, not when Talon’s paying the big bucks to whoever brings you to them.” She snapped her fingers and faced the werewolves, “Jane, Ashe, grab him.”

“No,” Jesse whispered, voice breaking. “Just let him go, Carmen. I swear, if you do that I’ll come with you, no tricks no trouble. Just let him go.”

“Jesse—“ Gabriel started.

“Oh?” Carmen interrupted.

“I promise, I’ll do whatever you tell me to.” Inside his chest, Jesse’s heart was thundering in terror and panic. There were no other options that he could see. Either both of them would die, both of them would be brought to Deadlock as prisoners, or he could go with the Deadlocks and Gabriel would be free. He couldn’t let Gabriel die or be used by anybody as an experiment, if he had to sacrifice himself, he would.

He just had to pray that Carmen wanted her son back more than she wanted whatever money Talon was offering for Gabriel.

Carmen stared at him with an unreadable expression and the weight of her gaze was heavy. He forced himself not to bow under the pressure and did his best to still his trembling hands.

“I don’t see why you’re making a big deal out of this, Jesse, really,” Carmen said, tone dryer than the desert above them. “I get you bit the man, but he’s not your family, I am, and you find that Deadlock ain’t like what it used to be.”

“Deadlock took away my childhood,” Jesse’s voice was hoarse and he looked at Carmen with watery eyes. “I don’t think anything can change what I think about it.”

“And it took away my chance to raise my child. As I said, we both made sacrifices. Do you think after what Nate and I did in Dorado that I came away intact, Jesse?” Carmen asked and Jesse couldn’t help but notice the thick scars that went along her neck and down her lips. “But Deadlock’s _mine_ now, you’d be a prince.”

“If you try and take Reyes with you, I ain’t gonna be a prince,” Jesse clenched his hands into fists and stood firm. “You’d have to either kill me or take me by force, because I wouldn’t be coming without a fight.”

Jesse’s insides were screaming at him, _Reyes be damned, this is your mom. Go with her, let her love you. You’ll forget everything and be a family_ , but he couldn’t forget everything that Reyes had done for him. He couldn’t forget that she left him for six years.

 _She left you for nineteen years_ , another voice inside him said. She let Nate think she was dead and the thought brings a sudden rage inside of him.

“Pa thought the world of you,” he said softly, voice shaking but not with fear or sadness or anything as weak as those. No, he was a trembling point of tension and rage, ready to snap as he thought of his father. “He— he told me stories about the two of you in Mexico, how you was the best thing that ever happened to him.”

“Jesse—“ Carmen started.

“He died because of you,” Jesse growled. “He died and I thought I was alone for _six years_ because you thought Deadlock was more important than me?” It was like a dam of anger had opened up inside of him and he felt the telltale itch of transformation underneath his skin. “I was a child and I saw my own father die in front of me. Do you know how old I was when Itou forced me to kill somebody?”

“This is enough, Jesse.”

“I was thirteen.” Jesse ignored her. “Thirteen years old and already a murderer. Where were you during that?” His breathing was ragged and he was suddenly glad Carmen had forced him to drop his gun. “And you think that you can just, just come to me and pretend that we’ll be a happy family? Force me to sell out the only person that’s ever done _anything_ for me?”

“I did what I had to— for _us_.”

“ _Bullshit_ ,” Jesse screamed. “If you were focused on what was best for us, you would have gotten me out of there. You would have run away with pa instead of making him mourn you.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive you.” Jesse stared at Carmen and clenched his clawed fingers into his palms, drawing hot blood. “But if you let Reyes go, I won’t bring it up again. I’ll be the perfect son you want who does whatever you tell him to— just let him go.”

“Fine.” Carmen stared back at him, any warmth in her gaze gone. He didn’t know what she had expected of him before that moment, but he hoped that she would see what he truly was. He wasn’t a pliant boy who would go down without a fight, too afraid to argue. He wasn’t a tool for Deadlock anymore, no matter his words.

He was a wolf and he would fight tooth and nail for his freedom.

——

Jesse wasn’t quite sure where the new Deadlock base was, despite her words Carmen didn’t trust him enough to let him know where they were headed. Maybe she was afraid he’d run as soon as he knew Gabriel was safe. So as soon as they got out of the caverns, one of the wolves dumped Gabriel on the red dirt and another wolf grabbed him by his neck, scruffing him and rendering him immobile.

“I really wish I didn’t have to do this,” Carmen frowned as she walked to a rugged Jeep, one of the few cars left with wheels. “Life with us will be good to you if you cooperate, Jess, but for now I have to treat you as a liability.”

“I wasn’t expecting to see you down there,” Carmen said loudly as she pulled out a box from the trunk of the Jeep and started rummaging through it. “I had all this prepped for Oscar— I was gonna bring _him_ back to base… and then you showed up and, well, I like you more than my brother.”

Jesse’s heart rate spiked as he saw Carmen grab a small vial of liquid and a needle out of the box.

“No, no no no, please don’t,” the words came out fast and jumbled together in panic. “I swear, you can blindfold me and I won’t do anything to look where we’re going.”

Carmen gave him the patronizing smile an adult would give to a toddler, “Aw, sweetheart, I wish I could believe you, I really do. Unfortunately, loose ends are what led Blake to an early grave which means you’ll need to be handled carefully.” She unwrapped the needle and stuck it into the vial, drawing out a small amount of clear liquid. “Now I can speak on experience on this— it won’t have any lasting effects so there’s no need to worry.”

Any movement from Jesse was stopped by the firm pressure on the back of his neck so he could only watch with pure panic in his eyes as Carmen tapped the needle a few times and walked up to him, one hand rested on his jaw, thumb stroking his cheek in a loving gesture that made him sick.

There was a pinprick of pain in his neck and before he could count to ten, everything went black and Jesse McCree fell limp.

——

Jesse was in a windowless room when he woke up.

It wasn’t quite a cell— there was an actual king sized bed, a plate of still warm food on a small table, there was even a tv and some books. But he knew a prison when he saw one and he had a feeling that if he tried the door, he’d find it was sealed tighter than the door to a bank vault, and there was a lack of any device that could contact the outside world.

Once again, he was Deadlock’s prisoner.

Jesse paced the room, running a hand along the walls and pressing an ear to the door to see if he could hear anything. He even tried the handle once to see if he could get out, but he had no luck.

Carmen had been pretty clear on one thing, if Jesse was a threat she’d take care of him. He swallowed nervously as he remembered what she had done to her brother who had, admittedly, deserved much worse, but he had no doubt in his mind that if he didn’t play his role carefully, his next bed would be a shallow grave somewhere in the desert.

Jesse let out a breath he had been holding, at least Gabriel got away. He wouldn’t have known what to do with himself if he had fucked over the other man’s life for a second time by getting him sent straight to Talon courtesy of his mother.

His stomach growled, taking him out of his thoughts and back to the present. He hadn’t eaten a proper meal since he got on the transport jet earlier and the protein bars and nutrient goo were only an unpleasant memory for the amount of impact they had on filling his stomach at the moment.

Quickly, Jesse made his way to the plate of food that was waiting for him. It wasn’t anything special, but it was hot and it seemed fresh which was more than he could say about most of the food he had gotten with the old Deadlock. _A bird in a gilded cage_ , he thought to himself as he picked up the first of the several slightly over cooked burgers and tore into it, too hungry to care. He ate ravenously, barely stopping to chew the meat and pausing only to drink massive gulps of water to help with the dry meat.

He was down to his last burger when the door opened and an unfamiliar, albino woman walked in. She looked like she was only a few years older than him, maybe 24 max, and he could smell the wolf in her.

“Your mom’s busy so she sent me,” the girl said and set a small ziploc bag on the table. “Take the pills in here.”

Jesse’s lips twitched, “You don’t seriously think I’m about to take some strange pills?”

“Yeah, I do.” The girl sounded unamused. “It’s either you take the pills or you get another shot, your choice, cupcake.”

“No.”

The girl raised her eyebrows and Jesse noticed how fresh the Deadlock tattoo on her arm and the bite mark on her shoulder looked. She couldn’t have been a wolf for more than three or four months and he wondered how many new wolves his mom had been making.

“Pills or a shot of this shit, those are the options.” She slid the ziploc bag closer to him and Jesse stared at the small, white pills. They could have been any number of things and he could easily guess what they were for. Carmen wanted him to not be a threat and the easiest way was keeping him drugged, domestication by force.

“Bitten wolves ain’t supposed to tell born wolves what to do,” Jesse scowled, trying for any angle to get out of the situation he found himself in.

“Things have changed since Carmen took over,” the girl said as she took out a syringe and a vial of amber colored liquid.

Jesse was too much of a coward to fight as she grabbed his arm and plunged the syringe into him, filling his veins with the drug and his head with cotton.

——

Focusing was hard.

It was like Jesse was watching somebody else pilot his body, following after the girl like a duckling following its mom. He tried focusing at first, he wanted to beat the drug. He wouldn’t be cowed. But then he forgot what he was supposed to be focusing on.

 _It’s the drugs, focus on staying lucid_ , some voice in his head said. It was faint.

Focusing was hard.

He let himself walk his wobbly, not-quite-his steps behind the new-wolf-girl.

 _She smells nice_ , he thought.

“You smell nice,” he said, words slurred. Though, she didn’t smell as nice as Gabriel did. “Gabe smells nice too.”

“Who’s Gabe?” New-wolf-girl asked.

“He’s my… he’s my…” who exactly was Gabriel to him? He couldn’t focus long enough to think of words.

So he didn’t focus.

Focusing was hard.

Following new-wolf-nice-smell-girl was easy.

She said something that he heard but didn’t understand, it was like he was underwater and she was above the water.

 _You’re supposed to be angry_ , that voice in his head appeared again.

Jesse blinked slowly. “Why should I be angry?” He asked aloud.

New-wolf-girl stopped in front of him so he stopped too. “You shouldn’t be angry,” she said, looking at him. “You’re safe now, Jesse.”

“I’m safe now,” Jesse repeated.

Focusing was hard.

Being angry was hard.

It was easier to follow along.

“Your mom’s in there,” new-wolf-girl said. Maybe she had been saying more, but Jesse hadn’t been paying attention. “I’ll wait for you here.”

Jesse blinked slowly as the words jumbled around in his foggy head.

“You smell nice,” he said, noticing her scent again.

She said nothing, just opened the door and he walked through it like he was on a leash.

Carmen wasn’t alone in the room, in there with her was a red headed woman who seemed familiar but he couldn’t quite place her face. When he tried to think further, to remember where he had seen her before, it was like he hit a brick wall.

“And you’re sure he won’t remember this?” The red headed woman asked.

“Relax, Moira.” Carmen was perched on the edge of her desk, laptop flipped closed behind her. “He’s on enough drugs that he barely remembers his name right now. He won’t remember any of this tomorrow. Got these from a friend in Canada— specially made for wolves.”

Moira… where did he know her from?

“How are you feeling, Jess? High as a kite?” Carmen hopped off her desk and ran a hand along his cheek. “We got you the good stuff.”

Jesse smiled blankly. “Everything is fuzzy.”

“Fuzzy and safe,” Carmen said as she led him to a chair that he sat down on. “You know you’re safe with me, right?”

Jesse blinked slowly and the smile stayed on his face. Why did he want to be angry with her? She was helping him. “I’m safe,” he said.

Carmen brushed his hair back and kissed his forehead, “Good boy, Jesse.”

His smile widened at the praise and he quickly lost focus as Carmen and Moira talked. Their words were a static thrum in the back of his mind as his thoughts drifted in the sea of cotton that was his head.

He was brought back to semi-reality as… as… who was she again? Snapped her fingers in front of his face.

“Open up,” she ordered and Jesse opened his mouth for her to immediately take a cotton swab and run it along his cheeks. His mouth was left open until she prodded under his jaw and he closed it shut.

She poked and prodded at other places on his body, scraping up skin samples, collecting blood, and cutting off a few strands of hair.

“I can’t smell you,” Jesse said dreamily as he watched the woman put a bandage over one of the patches she had taken a skin sample from. It didn’t hurt… the area throbbed but there was no pain. “Why can’t I smell you?”

“It’s because I’m a vampire,” the woman said with a laugh.

Jesse laughed too, she was funny.

“I’ll be back to get more samples tomorrow,” the woman said to Carmen, any trace of humor gone. “Preferably shifted”

Shifting… he could shift, couldn’t he? He stared at his hands while his mom and the woman talked.

How did he shift again?

He just… had to focus, didn’t he?

But focusing was hard.

So he didn’t.

He just let himself drift again, barely noticing when the woman left and he was alone with his mother.

She wrapped his arms around him and he relaxed.

He was safe.

He was home.

——

On the other side of the compound, Gabriel sat alone in a cold, steel cell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the beginning of the end wink  
> My plan is to finish the fic by Halloween so kick my ass to make me regularly update!  
> \----  
> Follow me online @smalls2233 or @smallsnsfw


	19. Chapter 18 -- 2056

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for non-consensual drug use and withdrawal

Jesse was kept doped up, for the first week or so they still had to inject him for the doses— he was sober enough at those times to still fight. But at some point, he wasn’t exactly sure when since time all blurred together, when he wasn’t drugged, he’d be a sweating, shaky mess, vomiting up everything in his stomach and then some. It only got worse if he managed to hide away a dose and not take it.

Some part of his brain recognized it as withdrawals, could remember the junkies and addicts Deadlock occasionally catered to, their sunken eyes and shaking hands. He didn’t think that it had happened without being off drugs for more than a few hours, but he didn’t know what Carmen was forcing in him.

He started taking the pills willingly at that point, trying to stave off the pain.

The days around the full moon were the worst. There were no pills with his food around three days before the full moon and he wasn’t summoned outside of his room. There was only a single note that said:

_A side effect of the pills is that they stop you from shifting. To make sure there are no complications on the full moon, you’ll be off the pills and confined to your room until the morning after._

_-C_

Jesse stared at the letter, reading over it multiple times. He’d be off the drugs for four days. Weeks earlier, he would have celebrated the days of clarity it would bring. But at that moment? He felt nothing but dread settle uncomfortably in his stomach. This was torture, plain and simple.

Jesse tried the door and found it locked tight. “Please,” he begged, banging on the door. “You can’t do this to me.” _Better than Deadlock was before my ass_ , he thought to himself. Get him completely dependent on some drug and then rip it away from him cold turkey, it was crueler than anything that had been done to him before.

There was no response to his pleading and his banging on the door was only making his head pound. He slid down the metal and rested his head between his knees, trying to control his breathing to stop himself from panicking. Panicking would only make things worse than what they were already.

His hands shook, small little tremors that he knew would only get worse. Silent tears slid down his cheeks, he didn’t even realize he was crying until he felt the dampness on his sweatpants.

——

The full moon was pure agony. Usually, shifting on those days was comfortable and familiar, like coming home from work and putting on your pajamas or sliding into freshly washed sheets. But that night? It felt like his skin was being rubbed raw by sandpaper, like his bones were being crushed as they reformed.

The past few days, he had been unable to keep any food down. Anything he tried to eat came right back up and he had barely been able to get out of bed for the shaking. He felt like a zombie, a broken shell of himself. A broken shell being broken down even more as he shifted. He had never felt pain shifting like he did at that moment.

And when the shift finally ended and the pain settled, the shaking returned and his heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest.

Jesse collapsed onto the floor and moaned in pain, clawed fingers digging deep gouges in the fake hardwood floor, revealing steel underneath. He was both starving and nauseous, overheated and deathly chilled. His hands and paws felt clammy, sweat leaving his body in the only place it could, shifted as he was.

He heard noises on the other side of the door, but he couldn’t understand the words or place the voices. It wasn’t that his head was stuffed with the cotton of the drugs, it was that his entire body was screaming too loud for him to be able to focus on anything else.

Fresh air swept into his room as the door opened and Jesse let out a weak growl, unable to do anything else in his trembling state.

“Oh, Jesse,” Carmen murmured and crouched down next to him, setting a small bag down. Her scars were prevalent in her shifted form, deep gouges stretched across her back and arms and the scar on her neck stretched down to her navel. The naked scar tissue stood out against the dark browns and creams of her fur.

She ran a clawed hand along the fur of his neck and he let out a moan of pain. “It won’t be like this forever, sweetheart,” she said and flashed a light in his eyes, typing something down on a tablet as she looked over him. “One day you’ll accept your place here and you won’t feel this pain again.” She lifted up his lips as gently as she could with shifted hands and inspected his teeth and gums.

“Why?” Jesse managed to get out but even the single word was a mangled mess.

“You’re a threat.” Carmen reached into the bag and pulled out a sterile syringe that she stuck into his arm, drawing a small amount of blood. “I love you, Jess, I really do, but I have Deadlock to consider.” She put the syringe into a plastic container and grabbed another that she promptly stuck him with. “If it makes you feel any better, tomorrow you’ll be floating higher than the clouds, barely remembering this.”

“No.”

Carmen scratched behind Jesse’s ears and along his shoulder blades. “It’s better than hurting like this, isn’t it? No more shakes and nausea, you’re happy and comfortable.”

Jesse let out a weak whine and tears brimmed in his eyes. His entire body was trembling and it felt like his heart was going to explode.

Carmen paused as she put the second syringe into another container and grabbed a few swabs. She forced a swab into his mouth and just that motion made Jesse retch.

“Talon’s interested in you,” Carmen murmured as she swabbed his cheek. “We’ve sold them all kinds of genetic material of different werebeasts but you’re a unique one.” She pulled the swab out and replaced it promptly with another. “They actually wanted me to just deliver you to them but I refused.”

“How kind of you,” Jesse grunted out.

Carmen looked at him sadly, “I know you think badly of me, but I do love you. I want you to lead Deadlock alongside me, it’s always been my plan.” She put away the swabs and brought out a larger syringe that had Jesse cringing at the sight of it.

“You’ll understand why I’ve done everything that I’ve done at some point,” she said as she felt along Jesse’s neck and shoulders with a hand, feeling for something. “You feeling angry is only natural, it means you’re strong.” She pressed down and Jesse’s eyes widened as he realized what she was looking for.

His scent gland.

“No.” A weak whimper left his mouth and Carmen ignored it as she parted the thick double layered fur to reveal skin.

“Shh,” Carmen murmured as she lined the needle up. “It’ll only hurt for a moment.”

That was all the warning Jesse got before she plunged the syringe directly into his scent gland. All of the muscles in his body immediately tensed and a silent scream left his mouth. The pain was unbelievable and it only got worse as Carmen pulled back the plunger. It felt like acid was poured into his veins.

“It’s okay,” Carmen said softly. “This’ll just be a bad dream by tomorrow.” As if that made it okay.

Jesse was too consumed by the pain to respond. It felt like Carmen took an eternity to pull whatever fluid she wanted from his gland, but he knew it only took a few agonizing seconds. It was hell on Earth.

“There you go.” Carmen stroked the fur of Jesse’s neck as she pulled the syringe out of his scent gland. “I’m done now baby.”

“Sure you don’t need to pull my teeth out?” Jesse asked, voice gravelly and rough. “Stick some needles under my nails?”

Carmen shook her head sadly. “This is for your sake. Talon would be doing much worse if they had their way.”

“Overwatch didn’t do any of this.”

Carmen’s tail flicked. “Well Deadlock ain’t Overwatch, honey. I’ve got to make money somehow.”

Jesse opened his mouth to respond but he was overtaken by a wave of nausea. His stomach rolled and he dry heaved, there wasn’t enough in his stomach for anything but acid to come out.

Carmen ran a hand along Jesse’s back, “You’ll feel better in the morning, baby, I promise.”

——

Carmen was good on her word and in the morning with Jesse’s food delivery, there was a packet of little white pills. Jesse nearly cried when he saw it, finally the shaking and headaches would stop.

Some part of him hated that he celebrated seeing the drugs that left him in a haze, but the fog was better than the pain.

As soon as the bag was set down on the table he tore into it. There were four pills which he greedily grabbed and popped three of in his mouth.

Over the past few days, Jesse had formulated a plan to stop the withdrawal from hitting him so hard around the full moon. He was going to save a pill a day for a week or so, hiding them away so he could still dose himself with the drug. Part of him recognized how bad an idea that was; recognized that they somehow prevented him from shifting, but he couldn’t handle another four days of pure hell like he had experienced.

Jesse swallowed and brought his hand to the table, setting the free pill underneath the tray of food that was delivered to him. It took a few minutes for the pills to do anything, but soon he felt the fog start slowly rolling in to cloud his mind.

He sat down in the chair at the table, legs suddenly feeling weak at the rush of the drug. It felt amazing, like he could feel the pills chase away the shaking pain of withdrawal in his body.

“You need to eat, Jesse,” the new wolf — Ashe, Carmen called her — said, pushing the tray towards him. He stared at it, stomach rolling slightly at the thought of food but obediently he grabbed the mug of chicken broth and slowly sipped at it, grateful that the food he was given was light.

Ashe stayed silent and Jesse’s head got foggier and foggier as he slowly ate. The drugs took their full effect at some point and he stared blankly at the empty tray in front of him.

“You done?” Ashe asked.

Jesse looked up at her. What was he done with? He looked back down at the empty mug in front of him. “Yes?” He said.

Ashe said something, but he didn’t hear it, not with the way the lights shone on her white hair. He reached out and touched it. “It’s soft,” he murmured.

She pulled his hand off of her hair and he just stared at her. She smelled nice.

“Stand up, Jesse,” she said and touched his shoulder.

He stood up and waited for her to say something else. Some part of him was worried about the tray, didn’t want her looking under it. He wasn’t sure why.

She was nice and her hair was soft. Why was he worried about her? She cared about him, everybody in Deadlock did.

Jesse followed Ashe as she led him out of his room, mesmerized by the way that the lights shone on her hair. 

“Your hair's white,” he said and grabbed a strand of it.

“Is it? I never noticed.” Ashe pulled Jesse's hand off of her hair.

“You smell nice.”

“You’ve told me.”

Had he? He couldn’t remember. He just knew that she was pretty, smelled nice, and had soft hair.

Ashe stopped in front of a door and opened it. Jesse walked through it and yawned, suddenly tired.

Carmen was waiting for him in her office, short hair messy. She looked up at him and smiled, he smiled back.

“How are you feeling, Jess?” She asked and stood up, walking towards him with long, confident strides. “Nice and high?”

Jesse smiled blankly at her. “Nice and high,” he repeated.

She ran a hand through his hair and kissed him on the cheek. “Much better than yesterday?”

Jesse stared at her, what happened yesterday? Vaguely, he could remember pain, but the harder he tried to remember, the fuzzier the image was.

“I bet you do,” she said and Jesse couldn’t hold back another yawn. She looked at him, “You probably need a nap, you didn’t get much sleep the past few days.”

He nodded slowly and blinked at her. It was easy doing what she told him to and he followed behind her as she walked him to a small couch.

“We’ll have some visitors later,” she said and Jesse barely heard her. “After you get some sleep, Ashe’ll gonna give you a bath and get you dressed up nicely.”

“Why?” He asked and sat down on the couch.

Carmen ran a hand through his hair and he leaned into the touch, “You’re my son and these folks are _very_ interested in meeting you.”

Jesse nodded and closed his eyes. “Who are they?” He asked.

Carmen kissed his forehead and whispered against his skin, “The council of Talon— if everything goes well, I’ll be inducted this evening.”

——

Jesse could barely stand up by the time Ashe half carried him to a large conference room. After his bath, another dose of the drugs was shot into his bloodstream. If his mind had been clear, he might have realized that he didn’t need another dose, that the extra addition of drugs to his system was more of a safety precaution by Carmen to make sure he didn’t remember anything.

But his mind wasn’t clear so he didn’t think of anything as more of the drugs entered his bloodstream, fogging up his mind even more.

He could hardly think as he stumbled down the hallway, leaning heavily on Ashe. It was simply too difficult to wade through the mollassassy cotton in his head, but at the same time he was hyper aware of the way his heart beat in his chest, the way he could hear the fluttering beats in his ears.

Jesse’s stomach rolled and he swallowed hard, trying to fight the sudden wave of nausea that threatened to overtake him.

“Jesse?” Ashe stopped and looked at him. “Jess, you okay?”

Jesse looked at her blankly and his stomach began settling. “I…” he trailed off, distracted by the way the LED lights of the hallway reflected off of a window.

“ _Might_ have overdone the dose,” she muttered under her breath and Jesse barely heard her, didn’t parse the words as they struggled to make their way through his drug addled mind.

Ashe opened the door to the conference room and helped him walk into it. Inside there was only his mother, few other Deadlocks, and the red headed woman he had seen a few times.

Carmen was wearing black dress pants and a crisp white shirt, only buttoned about halfway with a blazer draped over her shoulders. Jesse smiled at the comforting sight of her.

“He’ll need to be sitting for this,” Ashe said and Jesse wasn’t paying attention— focus stolen by the video playing on the holoscreen in the center of the room. “He’s a bit too out of it.”

“It’s fine,” Carmen replied and wrapped an arm around Jesse’s waist to support him. “He doesn’t need to be aware for this— I just need him here to prove a point.”

She looked up at Jesse and snapped her fingers, drawing his hazy attention to here. “Can you sit down and be good for me for a few hours, sweetheart?” She asked.

Jesse blinked slowly. “I can do that,” he said, slurring the words.

Carmen smiled and rubbed his back, “Just be nice if anybody talks to you.”

Jesse nodded and started stumbling towards a chair. Sitting down sounded nice. His mother really did know what was best for him.

——

Carmen watched as Jesse stumbled towards the line of chairs on the wall, lips a thin line. If he would just stop fighting her and behave, he wouldn’t have to be the pitiful shell that he was.

But she refused to take any risks, refused to allow anything to stop her from bringing Deadlock to the heights she knew she could bring it to.

“Cheers,” Moira held two flutes of drinks, one a peachy colored champagne and Carmen liked to imagine that the other was filled with red wine, in her hands and gave the champagne to her.

Carmen’s lips quirked into a smile, “Cheers to you too, doc.” She took a small sip of the champagne, careful not to smear her dark lipstick. “Keep an eye on my boy for me tonight in case he starts foaming at the mouth— Ashe gave him a bit too big of a shot.”

Moira raised a brow, “No wonder he looks worse than usual.” She paused to take a sip of her drink. “He doesn’t trust me so seeing him so domesticated is… an interesting experience.”

Carmen snorted, “Well he’s got sense at least. Imagine the good he could do for us if he would just work with me.”

“Good luck with that,” Moira frowned. She stared at Jesse as if sizing him up, “I do wish you’d let me take him with me to analyze him further. I’d love to see how the enhancement program effected to Gabriel compared to the one who bit him.”

Carmen grit her teeth, “It’s not happening, Moira.”

“Relax.” Moira took another sip of her drink and flicked her eyes back to Carmen. “The deal’s just for Gabriel, I know.”

Carmen opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off as the door to the conference room opened and a handsome man that she vaguely recognized walked in.

“Akande,” Moira greeted, voice cool. “Where is Akinjide?”

“Apologies, he was… caught up in a matter in Numbani,” Akande said. He looked at Carmen and extended a hand, “Akande Ogundimu.”

Carmen grabbed his hand firmly and shook it, “Carmen Santos, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

Akande nodded, “I may not be on the Council, but I like to be aware of major players. I heard you captured Gabriel Reyes?”

Carmen couldn’t help the smirk that played on her lips, “He’s in holding here— Doctor O’Deorain and I will talk about the plan for him later.”

Akande rubbed a hand along his chin and looked around the room. “Your son, I assume?” He motioned towards Jesse. “He seems… intoxicated.”

“A necessary evil,” Carmen shrugged. “I’ve been thinking of branching Deadlock into the drug trade and am trialing one potential on him— domesticates him and prevents him from shifting.”

“I’m rather interested in seeing what becomes of him. I heard he was the one that bit Reyes,” Akande hummed.

“You heard correct, he—“ Carmen cut herself off as she heard the door open. “We can continue this conversation later, I’m afraid I need to see who this is.”

Grabbing a glass of white wine from the table, Akande said, “I’m looking forward to it.”

——

The dimmed lights in the conference room did little to hinder Carmen’s sight as she looked over the twenty people gathered in the room. Their expressions ranged from interested to moderately bored with the exception of Jesse who looked like he was almost asleep.

“As you know, this month I managed to capture Gabriel Reyes,” she said, flicking to a slide containing a few charts. “Since then, under the guidance and watchful eye of Doctor O’Deorain, I have been administering various tests and collecting samples from him in order to understand what exactly the enhancement program did and how it affects him as a werewolf.”

She paused for a moment as she let the assembled people read the slide. “When the next rut cycle hits, there are plans to pair him with one of our top wolves to see if the genetic enhancements he gained through the enhancement program could be passed down to future generations.”

Moira spoke up, “I’ve confirmed through comparing samples of his blood, skin, and other genetic materials to Jesse McCree, the man who bit him, that there are indeed deep differences in the genetic material. It’s easy enough to see what they are when shifted; Gabriel has considerably more strength in either form and, when shifted, is much larger than McCree or any other werewolf in Deadlock.”

Carmen nodded, “We’ve collected genetic samples from every female werewolf in Deadlock to decide who would be most compatible with him. After we can confirm a pregnancy, Doctor O’Deorain will take him with her to a secure Talon base in order to conduct other experiments on him to see what Talon could gain from him.”

“And what of your son?” A councilwoman asked, eyes narrowed.

“He’s staying here. I explained this to Akande earlier, but he’s currently trialing a drug I received from a contact in Canada. So far the results have been as expected— as you can see he’s utterly docile and unable to shift. Come time, we’ll wean him off of the drugs and he will follow in my footsteps as Deadlock’s alpha.”

Carmen paused and typed into her tablet, finding documents Moira had recorded on the effects of the drugs. She pulled open another holoscreen and projected the documents onto it. “There are some severe withdrawal effects and it’s unknown what would happen if he were to stay on the drugs during the full moon. My assumption is that he would be unable to either start the shift or, in the worse case, complete it.”

“This drug would assist in our ability to contain potential subjects of interest,” Moira said calmly. “Currently we have it in two forms, an injection and pill. The supplier is looking into a way to create a form we could slip into drinks.”

“Off of the drugs, Jesse is completely uncooperative, but on them, he’s open to suggestion and will do whatever he’s told to.” Carmen ran a hand through her hair and scanned the group with her eyes, the formerly bored faces looked interested. “Deadlock will be the primary supplier of these drugs and we are currently looking into other ones that will subdue more types of inhumans.”

“And how would you do that?” Akande asked. “I’m far from an expert on the subject— but werebeasts seem to be fairly unique compared to others.”

“Inhumans all have something that differentiates them from humans,” Carmen said and paced slowly in front of a holoscreen. “Werebeasts can shift into different forms, sorcerers — and to a lesser extent witches — have inherent magical powers, and vampires have the ability to create glamours. If those abilities are suppressed and they’re tranquilized physically, all inhumans can be treated the exact same as a completely average human.”

Carmen’s lips quirked into a smug smirk as she looked at the group gathered in front of her, “If Talon decides to formally induct Deadlock, we can control the greater inhuman community and lead the world into a new era.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow another chapter and it didn't take over a month LMAO  
> I want to finish this fucking fic so I'm kicking my ass in gear to get it done soon asdlfks  
> \----  
> Follow me online @smalls2233


	20. Chapter 19 -- 2056

Gabriel tried the restraints on his wrists for what felt like the millionth time, searching for any give in the metal. There was absolutely no give and no matter how many times he slammed them against the steel walls of the holding cell nothing about them changed. Whatever type of metal they were made out of — probably some stolen military tech — was strong enough to withstand any amount of force he threw at it.

He rolled his head back against the rough fabric of the cot he was given and sighed loudly. Every day was the same, he’d be given a tray of food for breakfast that he’d have ten minutes to eat, then he’d be marched off to a bathroom where he’d essentially be hosed off with lukewarm water and cheap soap, then he’d be dressed in a hospital gown and forced into a small, sterile lab where he would spend the rest of the day getting poked and prodded at by either a silent, masked woman or Carmen Santos.

Occasionally Carmen would bring a drugged up Jesse with her and the sight of him broke Gabriel’s heart. There was no fight in his glazed over eyes and he looked like he was losing weight, he wasn’t quite the skin and bones kid he was when Gabriel dragged him into Overwatch over a year ago, but he was gaunt.

Gabriel looked down at his wrists and realized he was losing weight too. He had meals that would have been enough calories for another werewolf but left him still hungry and any exercise he got was sporadic, usually it was just when the masked woman or Carmen needed to get some data from him.

He sighed again, this fucking sucked. 

He sat up on his cot and tugged at his cuffs again, they felt like overkill to him. It’s not like he could do anything, locked in the steel cell, and the restraint part of them only activated when he was outside in the halls of the Deadlock compound. 

Gabriel ran a thumb over the slick glass where the restraining beam would come through. If he could get some sort of tool maybe he’d be able to fuck with it enough to make the cuffs nothing more than a fashion accessory, but unfortunately enough for him he was locked down tight and strictly monitored.

“Guess I should feel flattered,” he muttered to himself. Idly, he wondered if his SEP enhanced healing would let him regrow an arm if he chewed one off. Of course if he did that then he’d just die in a puddle of his own blood before he could do anything.

There was nothing Gabriel could do but wait and wait he did.

——

“I’m pretty sure there’s no difference in my blood between today and yesterday,” Gabriel said dryly as blood was drawn from his arm for what felt like the hundredth time. “And taking skin from my shoulder is the same as taking it from my leg, and my chest, and my back, and my a—“

“Do you ever shut up?” Carmen asked sharply.

“You’ve been keeping me locked up in a ten by ten metal cell for over two months now, I can’t help being a little starved for conversation.” Gabriel scanned the room as he spoke, eyes pausing on the masked woman. He could only assume that she was from Talon and something about her put him on edge, a vague sense of wrongness that seemed to color the air around her.

Next to her was Jesse, doped up on whatever shit Carmen forced into his system. He was leaning on a cabinet filled with medical equipment and looked half asleep. 

“So, how many people do you have locked up here?” Gabriel asked, trying with all his strength to break free from the restraints, but as always, they held fast. He wanted to know what was in that cabinet, if there were records on other werebeasts held in Deadlock’s hands and experimented on.

Carmen ignored him and swabbed a large patch of his arm with an alcohol pad. 

“Werelions, and weretigers, and werebears oh my,” Gabriel continued on, tone mocking. It probably wasn’t the smartest thing he had ever done, trying to rile up his captor while he was strapped to an operating table, but Carmen needed him alive. “Who are you selling the genetic information to, or have you gotten into the humanoid trafficking game along with the weapons trafficking one?”

Carmen fixed him with a glare that would have silenced a lesser man. “Do you want me to drug you like I’ve been drugging Jesse, Reyes, or will you shut the hell up?”

Gabriel narrowed his eyes, “Maybe me not being a parent clouds my view on the subject, but most mothers wouldn’t drug their sons to the point where they’re wasting away.”

“He’s a liability as it stands right now.” Carmen turned away from Gabriel and walked towards a counter where he could see the glint of metal, this seemed to be something new. As she rummaged around the metal she spoke, “I love him, I really do, as much as you might not believe me. However, he refuses to see that I suffered too for my dream.” She turned around with a scalpel in hand.

“Your dream,” Gabriel barked out a laugh. “And what about McCree, he has to suffer for your dream too?”

“He’s not suffering, he’s happy.”

“Happy? He’s so drugged he can barely stand.” Gabriel’s arms tensed and he wished he was free so he could sock Carmen in the jaw. “And what about the time before Overwatch took him in? He was locked up in Deadlock for six long years while you were there doing what, fucking Blake Itou?”

Carmen snarled, a feral noise. “You don’t understand anything I went through. Do you think Blake just let me come back to glory? I fucked a mutt, betrayed him.” Gabriel could see the way the tendons in her hands strained against the flesh, the hints of sharp fangs in her mouth. “I went through hell for eighteen years and came out stronger for it. I sacrificed everything for my dream and if you think I’ll let  _ anything _ , even my son rip it from me, you’re sorely mistaken, Reyes.”

Her grip around the scalpel was as hard as her icy gaze, “Now I need to record how long it takes for your flesh to heal from various incisions. This might hurt.”

——

Jesse stared at the small number of pills he had managed to amass over the past several weeks. They rattled in the plastic cup held in a shaking hand and Jesse couldn’t help the sigh of relief he breathed as he counted them. There were nine little white pills, more than enough to cover the next few days until the full moon. 

Breakfast was delivered that morning with another note from Carmen that there would be no more pills for the next four days since blah blah potentially fucking with his shifting blah blah side effects, he didn’t care. It was almost exactly the same note as the previous month. 

It would almost be a mercy if the side effects killed him, he thought as he dropped two of the pills into his hand. At least then he wouldn’t be anybody’s prisoner.

Jesse let out a shaky breath as he stood up to get his glass of water so he could take the pills. Nobody would be coming to see him over the course of the next few days, not with how he was labeled a liability by Deadlock.

“Reyes, please tell me you have a rescue op on the way,” Jesse groaned to himself as he took the pills and let the haze overtake him.

——

Gabriel sat on his cot and scowled at the wall, three days until the full moon and Carmen — or rather the masked woman — had brought in a new group of Talon scientists to poke and prod at him. Carmen had begun to leave more and more of the experimenting on him to the masked woman and he felt like a walking lab rat.

Unlike their boss, the scientists didn’t cover their entire heads with eerie, two faced masks. Instead, they looked like they hadn’t slept in years with black veins visible under translucent flesh.

The previous night they had hooked him up to an iv and watched as Gabriel writhed as what felt like acid was poured into his veins. He couldn’t do anything as he was put through pure agony. 

He rubbed the spot on his arm where the iv had been hooked up, whatever shit they poured into him last night had made the spot bruised and discolored. The thought that they wanted him alive was a small comfort, it couldn’t be poison since they had oh so much to learn from him.

“What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Gabriel,” he muttered to himself and traced a vein with the tip of a finger. It seemed darker than usually, reminiscent in a way of…

“They’re fucking vampires,” Gabriel swore, suddenly recalling the conversation he had with Jesse before all this shit went down. It explained the zombie-like look they had to them.

Gabriel dug a nail into his arm as a million thoughts began racing in his mind, vampires couldn’t turn werewolves and none of them had bit him. But was biting even the way that vampires created more? Jesse had explained to Angela who then explained to him that it wasn’t the process of biting that turned a human into a werewolf, it was the bodily fluids that entered the bloodstream.

He hadn’t gotten a look at the iv bag, but if he had to place a bet down, it would have been filled with blood. Was Talon trying to figure out how to make a werewolf-vampire hybrid? Or turn him from a werewolf to a vampire? 

He began scratching at his arm anxiously, Jesse had told him that if a vampire exchanged blood with a werewolf, the werewolf would feel sick and a burning sensation in their throat. He wasn’t feeling sick and his throat didn’t hurt, but the weirdness of his veins and the bruising on his arm made him nervous.

God. He just wanted to get out of there before they could do anything worse.

Hours passed before he was taken from his cell back to the overly sanitized lab, escorted by a vampire instead of any of the werewolves he had become accustomed to. The vampire was deathly pale and her movement was disconcerting and jerky, stillness followed by a swift repositioning of limbs. Her lips were pale and slightly gray and her gaze was hungry, everything about her made Gabriel’s fight or flight instinct run haywire.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes as he stared at her, “Where are the Deadlocks?”

“They’re busy.” Her voice was rougher than sandpaper with some sort of Eastern European accent. He had heard the vampires talk the previous night but that had been in hushed tones. He wondered if the other ones sounded like that too.

“Busy with what?”

“What do you think they’re busy with?” The woman rolled her eyes. “They steal and sell weapons, some of them are on a heist so we’re handling you for the time being.”

Gabriel processed the information for a moment, he didn’t know how long the Deadlocks would be gone for or what a vampire’s strength was in comparison to a werewolf’s but he could have a chance to finally escape. There were maybe six scientists and the masked woman, it’s possible Talon provided more backup to Deadlock to cover the base while they were gone, but they’d be unfamiliar with it.

Of course he wasn’t exactly familiar with the layout of the majority of the base and he had to worry about Jesse who would be dead weight. And then there was the whole restraint issue, over two months and he still hadn’t figured out how to get the damn things off.

God if he could just get away from attention for five minutes he could find a way to send a message to Jack. If he could do that, Overwatch would be on the compound in a heartbeat. All he needed was a phone and he could do it.

——

Gabriel’s chance came on the full moon.

Unlike the previous month where he had been sealed up in his cell, the vampires had escorted him to the lab shortly before the sun had begun to set.

The masked woman had a holoscreen of data up to her right as she worked on the counter, back facing the door. He couldn’t read what was on the holoscreen, but he could see tables and charts.

“Gabriel,” the woman spoke for the first time and her voice was distorted by the mask.

“I was starting to think you were mute,” Gabriel said dryly.

The woman didn’t turn around as she continued to speak, “Sometimes it’s wiser to stay silent than to run one's mouth.” The clink of a stirrer on glass was loud as she mixed chemicals together. A heavy stone of anxiety settled in Gabriel’s stomach as he wondered what she was mixing. Over the past few days he had been injected with god knows what and he wasn’t looking forward to having more mystery drugs forced into his system.

“Carmen’s been keeping her mongrel drugged to high heavens over the past two months, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.” The woman turned around with a syringe filled with a purple liquid in hand. “It’s a tranquilizer that also stops a werebeast’s ability to shift forms, rendering them entirely docile and harmless.”

“Is that what you’re holding?” Gabriel asked, apprehension hanging heavily over him. “Are you planning on drugging me too?”

Although her face was covered, Gabriel could hear the smirk in the masked woman’s voice. “Heavens no, you’re of interest to me alive, not dead, trapped in some halfway form.”

“What did you do to Jesse?”

“ _ I  _ didn’t do anything, he did this entirely to himself.”

Gabriel snarled, a feral noise, “ _ What did you do to him _ .”

“Down, Fido,” a male vampire behind the masked woman sneered. “The doc has a proposition for you.”

“ _ Speak _ .” Gabriel could feel his form shifting, bones breaking and reforming, muscles growing, and thick fur sprouting from his skin. He didn’t know if it was from the full moon or his own anger.

“I’m no chemist, but my team and I have created a sort of anti-venom per say. It will let him shift but you’ll owe me a favor for it,” the woman said, tapping on the syringe with a finger. “You don’t know who I am right now, Gabriel, but one day you and I will cross paths again and you’ll have a debt to repay.”

“So you’re blackmailing me.”

“I’m giving you a chance to save your little protege and return back to Overwatch. You really don’t have much of a choice.”

“What’s happening to him?”

“He decided to sneak drugs because in her infinite wisdom, Carmen thought drugging him into submission was the way to contain him. Now I really have no clue if they’ll impact a forced shift like the full moon, but if I were you, I wouldn’t take that chance.”

Gabriel’s heart stopped. “I don’t believe you.”

“You don’t have to believe her,” the male vampire spoke up again. He was leaning against a cabinet and staring at Gabriel with a dark gaze. “But we’re giving you a chance to escape from here with your boy.”

“Clock’s ticking, Gabriel.” The masked woman dangled the syringe in front of him. 

Unable to shake the feeling that he stepped straight into the vampire’s trap, Gabriel grabbed the syringe from the woman’s hands.

——

The halls of the Deadlock compound were eerily silent as Gabriel raced through them. With the werewolves sequestered away until they fully shifted for the night, the only Deadlocks roaming the halls were humans, weak and easily overpowered by Gabriel.

He didn’t have time to think about how easily his jaw ripped through the flesh of their necks, how his claws could tear into their chests like a hot knife into butter. He only had time to race through the halls to where the masked woman told him Jesse’s cell was and pray she wasn’t leading him to a trap, pray that he wasn’t too late for Jesse.

It was hard to gain traction on the linoleum floors in the compound, especially at the speed Gabriel was running and he ended up sliding when he turned corners. He couldn’t allow himself to slow down, couldn’t waste any time when his enemy was the rising of the moon and the maze-like halls of the Deadlock compound made his job all the more difficult.

Every time he passed a window, Gabriel could feel time slipping away from him. The sky was beginning to fade from the pinks and oranges of sunset to the black of night. Each centimeter the sun moved down on the horizon, the closer Jesse was to…

He couldn’t let himself think of that possibility. It was possible nothing would happen, that Jesse would shift normally, that he’d barge into the room of a dopey, but safe werewolf. 

Gabriel’s claws dug into the floor as he rounded one last corner and his nose was filled with Jesse’s scent, a familiar scent of cinnamon and smoke mixed with an unnatural, sickly sweet overlay that he knew was from the drugs. He followed his nose to the only room with a closed door in the hallway and paused, hand shaking as it rested on the cold metal of the door.

He steadied his hand and steeled his resolve as he shoved the door open. He had to lean down to fit through the frame and he unconsciously held his breath as he walked into the room, syringe clutched in one massive, paw-like hand.

“Jesse,” he breathed out.

On the floor, Jesse was convulsing violently, shirt soaked in sweat and hair plastered to his forehead. His muscles writhed underneath his skin and moans of pain left his lips. 

Jesse cradled his left arm close to his body and Gabriel’s heart stopped as he saw the broken, deformed limb. It was mangled, like the bones broke underneath the pressure of the writing muscles, unable to shift.

Too late, he was too late.

Images flashed in Gabriel’s mind, soldiers in his squadron, bodies torn apart by the turtle fire of bastion units, comrades in his enhancement program unit, bodies had been unable to handle the drugs, his brother’s closed casket funeral, barely anything able to be recovered of him after omnics razed his farm.

“ _ Jesse _ ,” Gabriel’s voice broke on the name. Hot tears brimmed in his eyes, clouding his vision as he moved forward to the boy’s convulsing form. He fell to his knees next to Jesse and cradled him.

Even for a werewolf, Jesse was hot, like a rod of iron straight from the fire in Gabriel’s arms and he didn’t even acknowledge Gabriel’s presence.

The syringe felt tiny in Gabriel’s hand as he pressed the needle against Jesse’s arm, praying to whatever god that was out there that it wasn’t too late. 

“ _ I love you _ ,” Gabriel whispered, voice hoarse as he slammed the syringe into the writhing muscles of Jesse’s arm and pressed down the plunger, sending whatever chemicals that was in it into Jesse’s body. Against his better judgement, he did love Jesse, painfully so. He was his boss, he was twice his age, but every fiber of his being loved the scarred, angry werewolf on some level he didn’t know he could love anybody at.

“Don’t leave me, Jesse,  _ please _ .”

At first, nothing happened and Gabriel let out a howl of pure anguish. If he had been faster, if he had been able to break free of the restraints at some point, if he hadn’t been shot, then Jesse wouldn’t be in his arms, bones breaking, unable to fully shift.

“Gabe.” Jesse’s voice was quiet, barely more than a whispered breath. It was enough to silence Gabriel’s howl and he looked down at Jesse in time to watch as he gagged, retching loudly.

Quickly, Gabriel turned Jesse to his side in time for him to vomit. Rancid and foul, he retched and retched until only bile dripped from his pale lips. The writhing of his muscles had slowed but Jesse was still shaking like a leaf despite how overheated he was. Gabriel rubbed Jesse’s back as the boy dry heaved, shivering as he felt the knobs of Jesse’s spine, so visible underneath his skin. 

“You’re okay, you’re fine, you’re fine,” Gabriel whispered, unsure if the words were for him or Jesse. 

“My arm hurts.” Jesse’s words were slurred under the influence of the drugs still in his system. “Why does my arm—” he broke off as he vomited out the last of the contents of his stomach, more bile and acid than anything.

“It’ll be fine, Angela will fix it.” He didn’t believe his own words, not as he looked more at Jesse’s arm. It was beyond mangled, misshapen bone stretched his skin thin and patches of fur sprouted, like it was in some halfway point of shifted and unshifted. He wasn’t sure if there would be any saving the ruined arm.

“We just have to get you out of here,” he said as he picked Jesse up gently, like the boy would break if he touched him too hard. “We’ll get you home and get you help.”

“I knew you’d save me,” Jesse said, staring up at Gabriel with dull, hazy eyes.

“I—” Gabriel started.

“Put him down, Reyes.” Carmen’s cold drawl interrupted him and Gabriel looked up to see Carmen, flanked by three shifted werewolves standing in the doorway to Jesse’s cell, ears flattened and teeth bared.

Gabriel bared his own teeth with a snarl. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight, not this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like a year ago I made a tweet about how in this fic jesse would come out with one less arm and a whole lot of mommy issues and I'm finally on route to deliver LMAO  
> \----  
> Follow me online @smalls2233


	21. Chapter 20 -- 2056

Gabriel gently set Jesse down behind him and he could feel the way his hackles rose with his snarls. For once, he began to accept the feral, beast-like instincts that came with the full moon. The ferocity, the fury, all of it would finally be of use to him.

One of the werewolves, the albino, Ashe, he believed, charged him and Gabriel met her in a flurry of teeth and claws. He snarled and snapped at her thick fur, fighting to pierce the skin underneath.

He had a good two feet and at least a hundred pounds on Ashe, but he wasn’t sure how much of an advantage that was as she raked her claws down his chest and maneuvered away from him while the second Deadlock moved in. She had deep red fur and viciously sharp claws and spared no time in raking them down Gabriel’s muzzle, drawing blood.

Gabriel snarled in pain and lashed out with one massive paw-like hand, catching the red wolf on the side of her head and knocking her to the floor. He shook his head, splattering blood along the metal walls of the cell and lunged at Carmen, though he was blocked by Ashe as she darted between the two of them and let Gabriel bite down on her arm, teeth piercing both layers of her fur and drawing blood, There was a sickening  _ crunch _ as the force of his bite snapped the bones of her wrist, but Ashe was unperturbed as she ripped out a chunk of fur from Gabriel’s neck.

Gabriel let go of her wrist and tried to grab hold of her neck but she managed to nimbly duck out of the way and kick him in the ankle, cradling her broken wrist all the while.

Just barely, Gabriel managed to stay upright as his leg threatened to buckle underneath him. 

The other wolf wasn’t as lucky as Ashe was and as she came in to snap at him, Gabriel wrapped his teeth around her neck.

The coppery taste of warm blood blended with the earthy taste of wolf as he tore open flesh. Blood sprayed over the fur of his chest as he shook his head, ripping a large portion of red fur and skin out of the woman’s neck.

Gabriel ignored her as she collapsed to the floor, hands clutching at the hole in her neck that was gushing blood.

Ashe stepped back and let Carmen cross in front of her. The two of them were growling and snarling, warier now that one of their own lay on the ground, choking on her own blood. Carmen’s ears twitched as she stared at Gabriel.

“I’m gonna kill you for that,” she snarled. Her voice was barely human, all primal instinct and rage.

Gabriel was unable to find any words to express himself. All he could do was let out a deep, throaty growl and bare his teeth as he moved his body to stand more in between Jesse and Carmen.

Compared to any other werewolf he had seen, Carmen was tiny. She was maybe six feet and didn’t have the heavily muscled form of the others. Her scarred body was lithe and thin, but Gabriel knew she was still dangerous.

Carmen made a low yipping noise and Ashe nodded before she turned and ran off. When Gabriel made a move to follow after her, Carmen snarled and raked her claws down Gabriel’s shoulder, sharp claws cutting through his fur and skin easily. Unlike the other wolves, there was no resistance. Her claws were razor sharp.

“This is between you and me, Reyes,” she snarled.

“So that’s why you brought your two goons?” Gabriel growled back at her. His muscles twitched, hungry for action. “Why you sent Ashe off to get more help.”

He stared at Carmen, wary now that he knew how sharp her claws were, how easily she could rip through his thick fur and skin. He wasn’t sure how much of an advantage his size would give him over her. Hell, he was pretty certain that it would give  _ her _ an advantage over him.

They circled as if daring the other to make the first move. Gabriel could feel the way his blood dripped down his shoulder and how his skin was already knitting itself back together. His whiskers twitched as he stared at Carmen’s pointed, almost fox-like face.

Gabriel lunged and managed to wrap a massive hand around Carmen’s side. His claws barely pierced skin, mostly ripping out large chunks of fur as they got stuck in the thick hide.

Carmen slipped free from his grasp with a small noise of pain and kneed Gabriel in his stomach.

“Give up Reyes, even if you can beat me, there’s a compound of  _ my  _ people. Even a super soldier ain’t gonna beat a pack of werewolves.”

She danced back, claws clacking against the floor as she took several small, light steps. Gabriel knew that she was right. He was strong and fast, but he’d be carrying Jesse throughout the entire compound.

But Gabriel goddamned Reyes never listened to reason and charged forward, barreling towards Carmen and he clipped her.

The two slammed into the metal wall and Gabriel’s lips pulled back, revealing sharp teeth as he snarled.

He snapped at her neck, catching only her outer layer of fur as she twisted in his grasp. He felt her sharp teeth pull at his shoulders but the pain of the flesh being ripped apart went unnoticed as he stabbed a clawed hand into her stomach, forcing it past thick layers of fur.

His hand felt sticky and warm with blood as he pulled it back and Carmen gasped in pain but the fire in her eyes was as intense as ever. She ripped free of his grasp and raked her claws down his side, cutting deep gashes along his ribs.

She was slower now that she had to keep a hand wrapped around the bleeding wound on her stomach but Gabriel knew better than to let his guard down. Once again, they circled one another, waiting for the first move, the first mistake.

Carmen moved first.

Fast as a viper, she lunged at Gabriel. All one hundred and eighty pounds of her slammed into him and he staggered backwards before he stabilized and used her momentum against her, slamming her against the floor.

He heard bones snap on the impact and as she scrambled up, her left arm hung useless at her side.

“Stand down,” Gabriel snarled.

“ _ Never _ ,” Carmen grower back and charged again. Her good arm raked down Gabriel’s chest and he howled in pain before backhanding her.

“I want to kill you.” Gabriel’s voice was cold and flat as he stepped forward towards Carmen’s prone form on the ground. The ground was sticky with her blood.

“I want to rip you apart,” he continued, kneeling down next to her. “But you’re right, I don’t have the ability to take on your entire pack while I still have McCree to worry about.”

Carmen glared up at him.

“You’re gonna be my hostage, Carmen Santos.” Gabriel wrapped a hand around her throat and squared lightly in warning. “If any of your pack tries to harm me or Jesse on the way out of here, you’ll get a faster death than you deserve.”

“Go fuck yourself.” Despite the broken bones and deep wound to her stomach, Carmen glared up at Gabriel with stubborn pride in her eyes.

“You’re about to rot in jail for a long,  _ long  _ time.” Gabriel pulled her up by her throat and slung her under an arm like he was carrying a sack of potatoes. Her stomach was still bleeding heavily and he could feel the warm liquid seep into the fur of his arm. She struggled but it was weak. 

As gently as he could, Gabriel picked the limp form of Jesse and began to carry him out of the hellish Deadlock compound.

——

Ana wanted to vomit she was so worried.

The small Watchpoint near Deadlock gorge had been filled with Blackwatch agents over the past two months as they tirelessly worked on trying to find Gabriel and Jesse.

The look on Jack’s face as he checked up with her nightly on any word of the two men was something that crushed her heart each time and she barely had the strength to answer the phone after the second week.

The bio tracker on Gabriel and Jesse’s arms had been surgically removed and left in the middle of the goddamned desert, far from anything and the only thing that gave Ana hope was that there were no arms to go with the chips.

“You need sleep, Ana.” Angela walked into the central communications hub of the Watchpoint with two cups of tea in her hands and a blanket around her shoulder.

“I should have gone with them.” Slowly, Ana took the teacup from Angela and stared into it.

“And do what? Get captured too?” Angela sat cross legged in a computer chair. “This was Gabriel’s job, not yours.”

“I protect my people.” Ana took a sip of the tea and noticed the bitter taste. “Are you trying to drug me, Angela?”

Angela grinned sheepishly into her teacup. “You did it to me when you visited Ingrid and me when I was going through finals week. You told me that I’d do better on my exams if I actually slept.”

“These aren’t exams, Angela.”  _ There are lives on the line _ , she thought.

“No.” Angela shook her head and stared at Ana, blue eyes piercing through her. “But the only thing we can do is pray that either Gabriel’s agents find him or he finds his way back to us and I don’t have to stitch him or Jesse back together too badly.”

A tear dripped down Ana’s cheek as she took a larger sip of the tea. “Gabriel is like my brother, I’m so,  _ so _ worried about him.”

“I know,” Angela whispered. Whatever drugs were in the tea were strong, Ana could already feel herself drifting. “I’m terrified too.”

——

When Ana awoke it wasn’t to the sound of noise. No, she was used to that. It was the silence that roused her from her drugged slumber.

She was on a couch in Gabriel’s office with a soft blanket draped over her shoulder and a glass of water on the desk in front of her. Angela couldn’t have dragged her in there so she probably requested help from Lane or Blaise.

Her head was still foggy with the sleeping pills as she sat up and reached for the water to help soothe her dry throat. The silence worried her.

When she finished gulping back the glass, Ana tied back her messy hair and walked to the door.

The Watchpoint was still dead silent when the door slid open and Ana’s mouth felt dry for more reasons than the medicine and she slowly moved forward, dread building deep in her stomach.

The first sign of anything was when Ana walked past a communications hub and saw Blaise and Dupont huddled around a set of screens, worry blatant on their face.

“What’s happening?” She tried not to snap but wasn’t sure how successful she was.

“One of our drones found the Commander and McCree but…” Blaise broke off and she looked away from Ana. “Something’s wrong and we have Fio, Lane, and the Doctor en route to them.”

Ana grabbed the back of a chair.  _ I should have been awake _ , she thought. “What’s wrong?” She asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

“It’s the full moon…” Dupont said slowly. “The Commander is shifted and there’s another werewolf with him who seems to be badly injured but Jesse is… he’s…”

“He still looks human.” Blaise looked up at Ana and her voice shook as she finished Dupont’s thought. “Something is wrong, Captain.”

Ana’s stomach clenched and she had to sit down, feeling unsteady on her feet. “I need to do something.”  _ Jack needs to know _ . The thought of how Jack would react brought little comfort to her, knowing how he would blame himself more than she blamed herself.

“Have you talked to the Strike Commander?”

“There was no response when we called.”

“Let me call him.” Ana reached for a phone but was stopped by a gentle pressure on her wrist by Dupont.

“Captain, the Doctor told us that you need to rest, just let us handle it.”

Ana clenched her hand into a fist and stood up. “I’m going to the ORCA bay.”

——

Two hours passed by the time the bay doors opened and the ORCA descended. Ana was on her feet by the time she heard the rumbling in the distance and her heart pounded in her chest. 

She had always been good at waiting, being a sniper made her learn how to be patient. But the minutes it took for the transport jet to land felt like they stretched on for days.

When the doors finally opened, Ana felt like she had aged a decade.

“What happened.” Ana rushed the door as Angela walked out, worry painted on her face.

“Gabriel’s fine,” Angela said quickly. “He has deep wounds that are healing and he looks malnourished, but he’s fine. Jesse though…”

Angela took a steadying breath and looked at Ana with tears in her eyes. “The other werewolf— she’s his mother and for the two months they were missing, she drugged him.”

Worry was replaced by cold fury. “Why?”

“To control him, Gabriel thinks. It— it impacted his shifting and something happened that made it so he couldn’t completely shift tonight.”

Ana grabbed the side of the ORCA and stared past Angela. She tried to think of what Fareeha would have to do to make her drug the child more than a simple tea to help her sleep. 

“He’s going to lose the arm.” Angela ran her hands down her face while Fio wheeled out a gurney with Jesse on it, skin waxy and breathing shallow. “I looked at it an— and it’s mangled, Ana. Everything below the elbow is twisted and broken.” A broken noise escaped Angela’s lips. “I’ve never wanted someone to die more than his mother.”

“She’s going to rot in prison.” Gabriel limped out of the jet, form shifted back to human wearing scrubs as pants and his chest covered in bandages. He pushed forward a scarred woman who looked like she was going to pass out, bruises covered her naked chest, bloody bandages were wrapped around her stomach, and her left arm hung limp and useless.

Despite all of that, she glared at everyone with a look of cold fury in her eyes. “Deadlock will come for me.”

“I’m going to tear Deadlock apart myself,” Gabriel barked.

Ana clenched her fists and it took everything for her to not punch the woman in her smug goddamned face.

“I’ll take her for processing.” All of the worry from the past several months had condensed into a white hot ball of pure, controlled rage as Ana stared at Carmen Santos. Carmen stared back, pupils pinpricks and lips bared. “And I swear to god, if Jesse McCree doesn’t make it, I will kill her myself.”

——

The first thing Jesse noticed when he woke up was that Gabriel’s hands were wrapped around his.

The second thing he noticed was that when he went to nudge Gabriel’s shoulder with his free hand, he came up short.

A quiet wail left Jesse’s lips when he looked down and saw the empty air between his elbow and Gabriel’s shoulder.

Gabriel jolted awake at the noise and Angela rushed into the room.

“Where’s my arm?” His voice cracked.

“Jesse—“ Angela and Gabriel started at the same time.

“ _ Where is my fucking arm _ ?” He screamed, voice hoarse and rough from disuse. He was vaguely aware of the beeping of machines that got progressively faster and louder as he got more and more agitated. 

Jesse broke down into choking, heaving sobs. His body ached in withdrawal from the drugs and the stump at the end of his arm burned. “What happened to my arm?” Fat, salty tears poured down his face.

“I’m so sorry,” Gabriel whispered. “There was— it—” he floundered for words.

“We had to amputate your arm.” Angela sounded exhausted and when Jesse looked up at her, she was wearing no makeup and the bags under her eyes were heavy and dark. “It was…” she took a deep breath and clenched her fists at her side. “Your mother she had you on drugs that stopped your ability to shift… if Gabriel hadn’t found you, you would have died.”

“When?” Jesse croaked out.

Gabriel and Angela stared at each other as if playing chicken on who would answer the question.

“Three weeks ago,” Gabriel said slowly. “We were captives of Deadlock for two months and a scientist from Talon helped me escape, I still don’t know why.”

Vaguely, Jesse could remember a scientist but any features of her were blurry in his memory. He could barely remember the time in Deadlock, it had all felt the same besides the few days he had been without the drugs.

“Is she dead?” Jesse asked, voice quiet and broken.

“The scientist?” Gabriel asked, cocking his head and drawing his brows together.

“No, my m— Carmen. Is she dead?”

“She’s in a cell in Grand Mesa.” Gabriel looked away from Jesse, towards the ceiling.

A broken sob left Jesse’s lips. “All my life I thought she was killed, pa died thinking she was killed.”

Jesse tried to clench his left fist but he couldn’t. There was no hand to make a fist from anymore and hot tears streamed down his cheeks. “She chose Deadlock over me.”

His entire life he had fantasies of his mom having had run away with his pa, that maybe they would have been a happy family together, safe from Deadlock. He had wished every goddamned day he was locked up as a child that she would appear from the dead as if by magic and set him free, take him with her as she made a new life for them.

But she wasn’t some savior. Maybe she loved him, she treated him better than he had been treated in the old Deadlock, but she still chose Deadlock over him.

She drugged him to keep him from being a danger.

She paraded him around like a prize she had won.

She was going to sell Gabriel to Talon.

“I’m sorry, Jesse.”

Jesse’s face scrunched up as he tried to fight the tears that refused to stop falling. Gabriel still wasn’t looking him in the eye and Angela stood as still as a statue by the door. 

“It’s not fair,” Jesse whispered, suddenly angry. “It’s  _ not fucking fair _ !” He slammed his right hand on the metal bar on the side of his bed as he screamed the words. “Why me?”

His sudden fury came and went as quick as a storm in the desert and he began sobbing uncontrollably. “Haven’t I suffered enough? Is this some god damned prank from the universe?” His words were broken up by loud sobs.

Gently, unexpectedly, Gabriel embraced him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered over and over again while Jesse’s tears soaked into the fabric of his hoodie. He only let go when Jesse’s sobs turned into quiet, hiccuping breaths.

“What are you gonna do with me now?” Jesse’s eyes burned with the remnants and he had to wipe his nose as he looked up at Gabriel. “I failed the only mission you had me on and now I’m— now I’m—“ he couldn’t finish the sentence. 

Gabriel and Angela locked eyes before she slowly left the room.

“As long as you want to be here, you have a place,” Gabriel quietly said after the door shut behind Angela. “Blaise is missing an arm too and you didn’t fail the mission.”

“I got us captured for two months.”

“ _ I  _ got us captured, not you.” Gabriel wrapped his hands around the metal bar and squeezed until his knuckles were pale. “You’re not responsible for what happened, Jesse.”

Jesse looked away from Gabriel and swallowed hard. “If it weren’t for me, we wouldn’t have been there.”

“And then I could have been outnumbered and captured somewhere else. Or a sniper could get me one day. Or I could trip and fall in the shower and break my neck.”

“I—“

“This isn’t your fault, Jesse. We got jumped and we were unlucky.”

Jesse chewed on his lower lip and tried to focus on something in the room that wasn’t Gabriel. But the beeping machines did little to make him feel better. The room was cold and clinical despite the flowers that lined the windowsill and piles of blankets and pillows on the floor. 

“Do you remember anything from the night of the full moon?” Gabriel asked, moving the subject on.

“Bits and pieces.” Jesse gave up looking around the room and stared at the white tiles on the ceiling. “Mostly the pain. It felt like my bones were getting pulverized.” He paused and took a deep breath. “I remember seeing you tearing out the throat of one of the wolves and…” he placed his hand over his eyes and dug the nails into the thin flesh of his face. “You said— you said you loved me.”

“I did.”

Jesse made a half crazed noise and dragged his hand down his face. “I thought my brain imagined it. That the drugs made me hear things. Everything was so fuzzy and everything hurt so badly.”

“I love you, Jesse,” Gabriel said in the faintest whisper and Jesse felt a few hot drops on his arm. He realized that Gabriel was crying. “When I saw you convulsing, arm mangled and half shifted I thought that I was too late.”

Gabriel wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie and Jesse had to clench his jaw to stop himself from tearing up again.

“You deserve so much better than all of this,” Gabriel whispered. “You deserve so much better than me, an angry old man.”

Jesse’s vision swam with tears and he reached up with a shaking hand that he rested on Gabriel’s jaw.

“I think… I think I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the pause between chapters! I started a new job towards the tail end of November so my life has been a lot of getting into the rhythm of working after being unemployed post graduation for a year. Hopefully I can get this fic finished up soon!! Thanks for hanging in there with me 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖  
> \----  
> Follow me online @Smalls2233 and @SmallsNSFW

**Author's Note:**

> I now have a furry overwatch server! [Ship friendly and 18+ only](https://discord.gg/QVG74vp)


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